Jan. 5, St. Augustine, Fla. / Cessna 172

At about 21:46 EST, a Cessna 172R crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 4.1 miles east of St. Augustine Airport. The pilot was killed. The flight originated from Orlando, Fla., an hour and a half before the accident. The pilot contacted Jacksonville Approach at 21:41:51 and requested VFR flight following to Craig Municipal Airport. At 21:45:24, the airplane was observed on radar at 2,000 feet heading 013 degrees. At 21:45:51, the airplane was observed at 1200 feet heading 051 degrees. The pilot stated at 21:46:00, Ah, Jax, I do not see anything. The airplane went off radar at 21:46:01 and radio contact was lost.