Jeff Lumpkin, an associate director at US defense company Raytheon, died on Wednesday in a plane crash off the coast of Venice, Florida, alongside his wife and another couple, the Daily Mail reported.

The couple died after the single-engine plane crashed near the Venice Fishing Pier soon after takeoff on its way back to St. Petersburg, Florida.

Jeff Lumpkin, 64, and his wife Patty Lumpkin, 68, flew to have dinner with their friends, Rick Beaver, 60, and and his wife Bethe, 57, of Noblesville, Indiana.

Following several 911 calls from people who witnessed the crash, emergency personnel responded to the scene just after 9:30 pm.

The crash happened about a half-mile from the pier in the Gulf of Mexico in about 25 feet of water, as per officials.

The airplane left an airport in St. Petersburg and headed to Venice Airport, arriving around 5 pm. The couples had dinner at Sharky’s On the Pier restaurant and left Venice Airport at around 9:35 pm.

Jeff and Rick's bodies were recovered Wednesday evening, Venice Fire Rescue said. As for Patty and Bethe's bodies, they were recovered Thursday morning.

The plane did not undergo services at the airport or receive fuel while it was there, WTHR said, quoting The airport director.

The National Transportation Safety Board is looking into the possible reasons for the plane crash, and investigators have recovered video from the pier and footage from the cameras near the airport. 

Read: Warn, track, target hypersonic threats: Raytheon's new $250mln deal

Tributes to the couple began to pour in on social media as the news came to light. 

'I’m in shock. Going to miss you and Jeff. You both were full of life doing what you loved,' a post on Patty's Facebook said.

It is worth noting that Raytheon Technologies Corporation is a US multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

It is one of the world's largest aerospace and defense manufacturers by revenue and market capitalization as well as one of the largest intelligence services' providers.

Raytheon Technologies manufactures aircraft engines, avionics, guided missiles, aerostructures, cybersecurity, air defense systems, drones, and satellites.

The company also gets a significant portion of its revenue from the US government.

Read: Pentagon awards Raytheon, Lockheed $311mln to replenish Javelin stocks

In January, the US Department of Defense was seeking to ink an agreement with Raytheon Technologies to support the Pentagon with technical assistance on the Patriot air defense system that will be delivered to Ukraine's armed forces, a post on the government's System for Award Management (SAM) website said.

Last August, the Pentagon signed a $182 million contract with Raytheon for the purchase of NASAMS short-and medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems for Ukraine.