ACTOR Joe Lara qualified as a pilot a year ago but it's reported that no one on board was licensed to fly the private jet that crashed into a Tennessee lake.
The Tarzan star, 58, was said to be among seven people traveling on the Cessna 501 when the plane plunged into Percy Priest Lake on Saturday.
Read our Gwen Shamblin Lara live blog for the latest updates…
The actor reportedly boarded the flight to Palm Beach, FL, with his wife Gwen and five others at Smyrna airport near Nashville.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration website, no one on board had a license to fly the plane, The Tennessean reports.
The jet was registered to JL&GL Productions LP last March and Joe was certified as a pilot just days later, News Channel 5 reports.
He reportedly hadn't updated his medical records since 2017. An update is required every two years.
Brandon Hannah, who was also reportedly on board, didn't have a license to fly the Cessna private jet, according to the FAA database.
What we know:
- Authorities said all seven people aboard are 'presumed dead'
- Human remains and wreckage from the aircraft have been found
- Tarzan star Joe Lara was among the deceased
- The plane was registered to a company owned by the Laras
- Shamblin Lara's daughter "sent a text to their church members"
- It said the plane went down "for a controlled, quick landing"
- Authorities released the names of the seven people onboard
- Crews are continuing recovery efforts.
Air traffic control data reveals that the plane started to drop after just 90 seconds in the air.
The pilot turned the aircraft shortly after receiving advice from air traffic control.
A noise, potentially an alarm, could be heard going off from inside the cockpit, News Channel 5 reports.
The jet regained some altitude before plummeting into the water.
It's reported that the private jet plunged 2,900 feet in less than two minutes.
Officials believe those on board were all killed on impact.
It has been reported that the diet guru and her family may have been on their way to a MAGA-themed event in Florida.
“The debris field is approximately a half of a mile wide,” said Rutherford County Fire Captain and Incident Commander John Ingle.
TMZ first reported that actor Joe, who starred in Tarzan: The Epic Adventures, was among the dead.
"All indications are that a total of seven people were on board," a statement. from Rutherford County officials said. All are presumed dead.
The victims are believed to be Joe Lara, Gwen S. Lara, Jennifer J. Martin, David L. Martin, Jessica Walters, Jonathan Walters, and Brandon Hannah, according to the statement.
Shamblin Lara founded the Remnant Fellowship Church in 1999 and is the author of The Weigh Down Diet.
In her last sermon, she preached about being "born again" and becoming immortal.
She said: "As risky and as tedious as the process, being born again where many things could go wrong, note you are conceived in love.
"And love and fear is what grows you. Love and fear is what guides you, grows you.
"It guides you through the birth canal and finally, it is love and it is fear that births you (sic).
"You're born again to live forever. To see mortal humans being transformed into a full-grown unworldly man whose spirit life through obedience is mixed with gods (sic)."
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