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Bystanders attempted to reach the plane to check for survivors before authorities arrived at the scene
NEED TO KNOW
- One man has died, and another was hospitalized after a small plane crashed into a body of water in Florida and “flipped over,” according to authorities
- The victim has been identified by the local sheriff’s office as 45-year-old Ryan Cody of Naples
- Cody was the business manager at St. Finbarr Catholic Church in Naples as well as a volunteer with the church’s youth program
A 45-year-old man has died after a small plane he was in crashed into a Florida national park.
The crash was reported just after 12:45 p.m. local time on Sunday, Feb. 15, according to an incident report from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) obtained by PEOPLE.
The plane “flipped over” before it became “partially submerged in water” after the crash in Everglades City, according to preliminary data shared by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Two people, a pilot and a passenger, were on the plane at the time the plane crashed in Everglades City, the FAA and sheriff's office said.
A responding officer said he found “a private fishing vessel tied to an inverted sea plane” with a bystander “holding another person” when he arrived at the scene, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office's report.
The person being held by the bystander was identified by the CCSO as 45-year-old Ryan Cody of Naples. The responding officer said Cody, who was a passenger on the 1981 Cessna A185F, did not have a pulse when checked.
Life-saving measures were attempted on Cody, but he ultimately did not survive, according to authorities.
Father Leo Smith, pastor of the St. Finbarr Catholic Church in Naples, said Cody was the church's full-time business manager and a volunteer with the youth program, according to Naples Daily News.
The pilot, 65-year-old William Goodrich, was hospitalized after the crash, according to the sheriff's office. The FAA said the pilot sustained serious injuries in the crash.
In a 911 call, obtained by PEOPLE through the CCSO, a witness told the dispatcher that he found the plane “out in the middle of Everglades National Park” but noted that no survivors had been found.
The caller, who said he did not witness the crash, said he would enter the water to see if there was anyone inside the aircraft.
Later in the call, a woman said bystanders were “trying to see if there's any survivors,” but were “getting pushed away by the tide.” A short time later, the caller and dispatcher were disconnected.
FAA records indicate the airplane is registered to Black Dog Holdings, Inc. out of Pleasant Valley, N.Y., according to Fox affiliate WFTX and NBC affiliate WBBH.
The aircraft involved in the crash took off from Marco Island Executive Airport at 11:16 a.m. local time and traveled more than 60 miles before it went down at 11:54 p.m., according to data from FlightAware.
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A vigil for Cody was held at Saint Finnbarr Catholic Church in Naples on Thursday, Feb. 19, according to WFTX.
"I wish that more people were like Ryan," Colleen Grady, director of religious education at the church, told the station. "He's a real example for the world."
Grady said Cody was “always talking about God and his spiritual life” and that he “knew” that heaven “was his home.”
"He said, 'I don't know if God wants me now, or I have to wait a long time,' " she added. "And I jokingly said, Ryan, you're too young. You're going to be here for a long time."
The circumstances surrounding the crash are unknown, according to the FAA. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.