The Australian government is providing consular assistance to the family of three Australians killed in a single-engine plane crash in the US.
Dfat officials have been dispatched to Florida following the crash in the Gulf of Mexico which killed three members of the same family.
US authorities identified the former Gympie resident Christian Kath, 42, Misty Kath, 43, and their 12-year-old daughter, Lily, as the victims of the crash. Kath was piloting the plane having achieved his pilot licence in July this year.
The family was living in St Petersburg in Florida. Local news station ABC7 reported the Kaths had flown from their local airport to Venice, Florida for dinner on Saturday. The single-engine Piper PA-28 crashed soon after takeoff from Venice Municipal airport on the return leg.
A spokesperson for Dfat said consular assistance was being provided to the Kath family.
“The Australian government sends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of those who died in this tragic incident,” the spokesperson said.
“Owing to our privacy obligations, and consistent with the family’s request for privacy, we are unable to provide further comment.”
Misty and her daughter had been recovered and the search was continuing for Christian, US authorities said.
“We are still working on it extensively.”
The cause of the plane crash remains unclear.
