The body of a pilot whose plane went down in the Indian River Wednesday has been recovered, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The agency said Thursday the pilot was killed on impact when the plane crashed into the river.
The NTSB said the pilot tried to land once, went back up and circled around for another pass during Wednesday afternoon's storms. That's when the plane went down.
Crews resumed their search early Thursday morning and have been scouring the waters of the Indian River just south of SR 405 and Kennedy Space Center property.
Divers have been in the water and the Brevard Sheriff's helicopter has been hovering overhead.
The twin engine Cessna with just the pilot on board flying from Orlando Executive Airport was trying to land at the Space Coast Regional Airport around 4:30 p.m. during the height of the afternoon storms when controllers lost contact.
Bill Fuhr, who lives along the river, says he was outside during the storm.
“I heard nothing, but I don't think I could of it was raining so hard. It's just amazing that they even attempted a landing here,” said Fuhr.
NTSB investigators will be on scene for the next two to three days. The salvage operations beings Thursday morning. They will be looking at all the weather data at the time of the crash. A preliminary report is expected in about a week.