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Family discovered nearly 24 hours after fatal plane crash

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a weekend plane crash in Florida that killed a family from Georgia.

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Nathan Enders, his wife, Laura Enders, and their two sons, 7-year-old Jaden Enders and 5-year-old Eli Enders, died in the crash, Clay Connolly, the deputy chief of police in Williston, Florida, confirmed.

Nathan Enders was an air traffic controller who worked at the FAA Terminal Radar Approach Control in Peachtree City, Georgia, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. The family lived in Williamson, Georgia.

Although the plane, a 1948 Cessna 170 registered in Texas to Nathan Enders, crashed at Williston Municipal Airport about 3:10 p.m. Saturday, the family wasn’t discovered until Sunday.

Officials said more than 20 planes flew out of the airport Saturday.

It could take authorities several months to determine what caused the crash, NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said.

But officials know the plane refueled somewhere in Georgia at 11:30 a.m. and arrived at Williston airport about three hours later, Connolly said. Williston is about 105 miles northwest of Orlando.

The plane tried to take off shortly after 3 p.m., but it crashed just beyond the end of the north side of the taxiway, Connolly said.

An emergency locator transmitter continued to send radio signals that should have been noticed by pilots within 2 or 3 miles, he told the Gainesville Sun in Florida.

But no one alerted police until 1:12 p.m. Sunday, he said.

“This is really a huge complacency issue,” Connolly told the newspaper.

Investigators will continue to go through medical records, maintenance records, radar data and air traffic control communication. They wrapped up preliminary work Monday before moving the aircraft to a secure facility.

Megan Sabol, Nathan Ender's sister, is collecting donations via GoFundMe.

"It is so awful still, thinking of their last few moments and what was going through their minds -- if they knew what was happening or felt any pain as they sat there upside down waiting 21 hours to be found," Sabol, wrote on Facebook. "I have not been able to find peace yet as the tears will not cease."

According to the family's GoFundMe page, a third son was not on the plane.

Aviation and Air Traffic Control lost a great guy today. Nathan Enders and his family passed today when their Cessna 170...

Posted by Brian Kelly on Sunday, April 16, 2017