A flight instructor and her student are presumed dead after a plane that took off from the New Orleans Lakefront Airport crashed into Lake Pontchartrain Monday night. The owner of Apollo Flight School, Michael Carasto, says it’s unknown why the instructional flight over the lake turned into a tragedy.
“The preliminary data indicates that it was not mechanical. So, we are going to wait on the official agencies that are investigating the operation. I’m not going to make any suppositions on how it happened or what happened,” Carasto said.
Carasto says the Cessna plane they were flying was a late 70s or 80s model, but it was maintained to regulation standards. He says there was no distress call, and the plane disintegrated once it hit the water, so the chances of survival were slim.
“The parents of the instructor, whose father is also a pilot by the way, and he kind of knew the reality of what was going on. But I think there were still pretty much in shock,” Carasto said.
Carasto says the instructor was highly qualified with 1,300 flying hours. He says both victims were in their 20s.
“It was an unbelievable tragedy. I’ve been instructing for 46 years. I’ve never had it. This was my first,” Carasto said.
