( CNN ) -- The bodies of two people who were aboard a Learjet that crashed shortly after takeoff from a Florida airport were recovered from the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday night , a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said . Petty Officer Mark Barney said the bodies of a man and woman were located just off the coast of Fort Lauderdale . A spokesman for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport said a medical flight had dropped off a patient and was returning to Mexico . There were four people -- two pilots , a doctor and a nurse -- aboard , Greg Meyer said . Authorities were still searching for the other two people on board . The Learjet 35 , which can carry up to eight passengers , was headed to Cozumel , Mexico , officials said . In an audio recording of air traffic control , the pilot asks to turn around before saying , `` Mayday , mayday , mayday . '' The cause of the crash was not clear . The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating . CNN 's Janet DiGiacomo and Dave Alsup contributed to this report .
The medical flight had dropped off a patient in Florida and was headed back to California . The pilot asked to turn around and said , ` ` Mayday , mayday , ' '' The National Transportation Safety Board is notified .