Two people were killed after a small plane crashed as it was departing from Daytona Beach International Airport late Monday, less than two hours after another small plane crashed in Merritt Island in an unrelated incident, killing two people on board that aircraft.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office identified the two people Tuesday:

  • Marlene Mork, 22, a flight instructor
  • Gabriel De Souza Marinho Falcao, 22, a student pilot

According to our sources, the instructor was from Norway, and the student was from Brazil.

An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board said the student and instructor were inside the Cessna 172S aircraft when it crashed shortly after takeoff.

Video from a Volusia County Sheriff's helicopter shows the plane engulfed in flames after crashing. However, reports about what caused the plane to go down around 10 p.m. Monday were conflicting.

"Some event happened," said NTSB investigator Eric Alleyne. "From what I understand, the aircraft may have been trying to get back to the airport — I'm not sure — and at that point, it stalled."

Initial reports from NTSB spokesman Steve Wise in Washington were that the plane experienced engine failure just before going airborne. But Alleyne called that report "too preliminary."

"I can't confirm that, and that would be speculation," said Alleyne. "I haven't had an opportunity to look at the engine yet. So far, what we've been doing is pretty much just documenting the scene."

The aircraft is owned by Phoenix East Aviation, a flight school located on Daytona Beach International Airport property. The plane took off on what was supposed to be a nighttime training flight, when it crashed.

One student from Phoenix East Aviation who asked to remain anonymous said someone on board the plane contacted the control tower just 10 seconds into the flight to report an engine failure.

"I'm going to investigate the whole operation, from the beginning," said Alleyne. "I'm going to investigate the aircraft, the engine, the occupants, the company that operated the aircraft, everything."

Alleyne said though it only took seconds for the plane to crash and burst into flames, releasing a preliminary report could take anywhere from five to seven days, with a complete report coming months from now.