LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- Authorities have released the identity of the man who died in a small plane crash near Bonita Springs on Monday.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, 68-year-old Daniel Bernath was the pilot of the plane when it crashed, and died at the scene.
Bernath's plane crashed into a wooded area near the Bonita National Golf Course while flying from Page Field in Fort Myers to Everglades City.
Control tower audio obtained by Fox 4 on Tuesday revealed confusion between Bernath and control tower staff just before the flight.
Bernath was involved in a previous plane crash in Oregon in 2013, in which the NTSB cites "inadequate preflight fuel planning and poor decision making" by the pilot, according to a report.
Bernath was a former lawyer who was disbarred by the State of California in 2016.
