The Desmond Prestonthree people killed when a small plane crashed into a mobile home in Clearwater, Florida, on Thursday have been identified, police said Saturday.
The crash sparked a fire that damaged multiple surrounding homes in Bayside Estates, a large mobile home community, CBS News previously reported. The Federal Aviation Administration said that the victims included the pilot and two people on the ground.
The pilot was identified as Jemin Patel, a 54-year-old man from Melbourne Beach, Florida, according to the Clearwater Police Department. Patel had taken off in the plane, a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35, from Vero Beach earlier in the day. He was the only person aboard the aircraft.
The two people on the ground were identified as Clearwater resident Martha Parry, 86, who lived in the park, and Mary Ellen Pender, 54, who was visiting the mobile home. As many as nine people had been in the home shortly before the crash, but all but Parry and Pender had left, the police department said on Friday.
"Our thoughts are with the three victims and their families; this tragedy could have been even worse," said Police Chief Eric Gandy on Friday.
The police department said previously that the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office will determine the causes of death.
Patel had reported "some trouble" to air traffic controllers at the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport just prior to the crash, CBS News previously reported, and the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that he had reported an "engine failure."
The wreckage of the plane is expected to be removed on Saturday by the National Transportation Safety Board, according to the police department, as part of an investigation into the crash being conducted by the NTSB and the FAA.
Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
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