Pilot killed in Florida plane crash

BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A pilot practicing takeoffs and landings died when his fixed-wing, single engine plane crashed near the Boca Raton, Fla., airport, authorities said.

The Aventura took off Sunday evening, banked left and crashed about a mile from the airport at the entrance to a shopping plaza, Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said.

No one on the ground was injured and police did not release the pilot's name.

FAA records show the plane was built by Matthew Blum, 78, of Boca Raton, and was registered at Blum's address, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Monday. The 10-year-old plane was in the process of being sold, Bergen said.