2 confirmed dead in Duette plane crash

DUETTE (FOX 13) - UPDATE: Manatee County Sheriff's Office detectives have tentatively identified the two persons on the plane as David Muchler from Raleigh, N.C. and Robert Redfern who recently moved to Manatee from Melbourne, FL.

A plane crashed, killing two people and sparking a wildfire in Manatee County Saturday afternoon. 

Manatee County investigators say the plane crashed sometime around 1:30 p.m. in the area of Florida State Road 37 and Florida State Road 62. 

The Hawker Beechcraft BE-6 took off from the Sarasota Bradenton Airport at 1:15 p.m., but did not file a flight plan. The twin-engine plane was leased from California, but officials could not release the tail number. 

Heavy smoke could be seen coming from the wooded area where the aircraft crashed and caught fire. Water tankers from Global Contracting are on scene, helping extinguish the flames.

The crash happened about one mile south of a Mosaic-owned property. About 30 acres had burned after the crash, but the fire was 100 percent contained as of 5:45 p.m., according to Manatee officials. 

Information about the number of people on board was not available. The FAA and NTSB will investigate the cause of the crash.  

Stay with FOX 13 News for updates on this developing story.

This article has been updated to reflect water tanker trucks from Global Contracting, not Mosaic, were helping with water supplies.