A small private aircraft crashed near Sanford Raleigh Executive Airport in Lee County, North Carolina, at about 2 p.m. on 7 July 2025, killing all four people on board, state highway patrol officials said. Authorities identified the victims as Travis and Candace Buchanan, both 35, and their children, Aubrey, 10, and Walker, 9. The family, owners of Buchanan Farms in Sanford, was returning home after a Fourth of July beach trip. The single-engine Cirrus SR22 had departed Merritt Island, Florida, earlier in the day and went down on approach to the airport. Three occupants died at the scene; the fourth was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have opened separate investigations to determine the cause of the crash.