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Three family members killed in Jacksonville plane crash

The NTSB has ruled out fog as a factor in a plane crash that killed a family of three Sunday night.

JSO said its dive team has recovered a third body after a plane crashed into a retention pond in a Southside neighborhood. The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and Jacksonville Sheriff's Office responded to the crash in the Sutton Lakes subdivision around 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

WOKV has confirmed the identities of the three victims: 60-year-old Michael Huber, the plane's pilot, and his two daughters, 20-year-old Tess Huber and 17-year-old Abigail Huber.

Tess Huber's bio on UNF's athletics website says she was a sophomore sports management major and a star golfer for the school.

UNF Athletic Director Lee Moon said Tess was the most outgoing member of the team and loved the sport with all of her heart.  She was 20-years-old. 

A previously planned golf fundraiser tournament Monday at Deerwood Country Club will go on in memory of Tess.  Her teammates and coaches will participate.

She's our angel above and she'll take care of the rest of us down here with a smile," says UNF Women's Golf Coach Joanne Steele

Steele says she called the team together last night after not hearing from Tess, who she says was usually very good about updating her teammates and coach about where she was, and seeing the news of a plane crash on television, they had a feeling it was the Huber family plane.

"I said 'Please tell me you guys have heard from Tess.' I was literally begging them to tell me yes," says Steele.

Steele calls Tess an outgoing leader who also had a quiet calm while on the golf course.

"We lost a family member. I mean, I feel like I've lost a daughter. My players lost a sister."

She says Tess loved to fly and was working to get her pilot's license.

Visibility was at three miles or fewer at the time of the crash in Jacksonville. It happened a half-mile from the targeted runway.

"They reported to the tower that they couldn't see the runway for Craig Airfield," said Officer Melissa Bujeda, with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
"A short time later, they got a report that it was low altitude for the airplane and then we started getting calls that the plane had crashed."

Witnesses on scene say they did not see a fireball when the plane crashed, but they did hear loud noises.  One man said he jumped into the pond to help the victims, but they appeared to be dead on arrival.

According to the FAA, the plane departed the St. Lucie County Intl. Airport in Ft. Pierce, FL and was headed to Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport.  The FAA and NTSB are expected to arrive at the scene by Monday afternoon.

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