According to the Miami Herald, it is likely that a mechanical problem led to the crash of a medical jet off the coast of Florida, causing the deaths of all four people on board the craft.

The private jet took off from Ft. Lauderdale International Airport headed back to Cozumel, Mexico on Tuesday night. Less than five minutes after taking off at 7:51 p.m. local time, the pilot Mexican-registered Learjet 35 issued a Mayday, announcing that he was in serious trouble and asked for permission to do a 180-degree turn and head back to the runway. However, the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean before they could reach shore.

The United States Coast Guard kept other water traffic away from the crash site for hours as they conducted a frantic search for two of the four passengers that were simply listed as missing. Eventually those two were also found to be dead. Rescuers have also recovered 1000 pounds of debris over a twenty-square-mile area.

The four-passenger complement of the plane included two pilots, a doctor, and a nurse.

The transport had begun the day in Cozumel, then flown to San Jose, Costa Rica. It then flew to Ft. Lauderdale with a patient on board. Their final flight was an empty return to Cozumel.

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