04-19-2012, 01:17 PM
![[Image: 1334855851214.jpg]](http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/articles/bn9/2012/4/19/small_plane_en_route/_jcr_content/contentpar/articleBody/image.img.jpg/1334855851214.jpg)
SARASOTA - A propeller plane with an incapacitated pilot crashed into the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, NBC News reported.
The pilot, who is believed to have lost consciousness or died before the crash, was the only person on board.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said two F-15s intercepted the Cessna 421 plane at approximately 8:45 a.m. to monitor the flight after the Federal Aviation Administration lost radio contact with the pilot.
The flight took off from Slidell, La., shortly before 8 a.m. and was scheduled to land in Sarasota.
The plane was flying at about 28,000 feet approximately 150 miles south of Crestview, Fla., on the state's panhandle just before it went down.
a small plane slammed into a Publix supermarket in Deland Fla. a few weeks ago.