WATKINSVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Family members said that a Michigan couple who died in a Georgia plane crash on Wednesday were "seasoned pilots" who "lived life to the fullest."
Robert Denton, 76, and Sandra Denton, 75, of Williamsburg, Michigan, were identified Friday as the people who died when their single-engine Cessna 177B crashed in a field Wednesday near Watkinsville.
The Oconee County Sheriff's Office said Friday that the couple also had a home in The Villages, Florida. They were flying from Leesburg, Florida, to Winder, Georgia, crashing in a field owned by the University of Georgia about 15 miles (25 kilometers) short of their destination.
"While taken from us far too soon, we find comfort knowing they were together and doing what they loved, flying," the family said Friday in a statement released by the Oconee sheriff. "Robert and Sandra lived life to the fullest and were two of the most thoughtful and loving people you could know."
The Federal Aviation Administration reported Thursday that the plane "crashed under unknown circumstances." Oconee County Sheriff James Hale told the Athens Banner-Herald that the plane was destroyed upon impact with the ground. Hale said the damage was so extensive that those at the scene were unable to determine immediately the type of craft that crashed.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are continuing to investigate. The sheriff's office asked anyone who finds debris that may have come from the plane to report it.
