The identities of two people inside a small plane that crashed into a Lakeland warehouse on Thursday morning have been released.

According to police, 62-year-old Terry Butt, of Winter Haven and 41-year-old Gregory Geng, of Hudson, were inside the plane and are presumed dead.

Both Butts and Geng attended Tail Wheels Inc., a local flight school based out of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.

Geng leaves behind his wife and two kids. He owned Admiral Air Cooling & Heating in New Port Richey.

Authorities said the plane, a Piper Apache A23, went down off 5300 Allen K. Breed Highway, which is just south of Interstate 4 and just east of County Line Road. The area is about eight miles northwest of Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.

"It devastates me of course," said John Fierro, Butt's roommate. "He was like a brother to me. But I’m old enough to be his grandfather."

Fierro, 90, said Butt let him live in his home after his wife died.

"I’ve had things happen in the past that have pulled the rug out from under me, but this was about as tragic as it has been," Fierro said. "A notice like that in the middle of nowhere."

Fierro said Butt was engaged to be married and had a passion for flying.

According to Lakeland Public Information Officer Janel Vasallo the warehouse was used as a storage facility for Key Safety Systems.

The crash, which happened just before 10 a.m., caused a fire at the building and a hazardous materials problem as chemicals were stored inside. Firefighters are being kept out of the warehouse due to the explosive nature of the chemicals, Vasallo said.

The building contains powdered aluminum and nitroguanidine, chemicals used in making airbags. Hazardous materials teams have been called in to assist in the cleanup.

"Firefighters are keeping the chemicals wet for now," Vasallo said. "It may take the rest of the day before firefighters can get in the building."

There was no one inside of the building at the time of the crash, Vasallo said.

Shawn Herrington, on a break outside the Advanced Auto Parts distribution center on Frontage Road about a mile away, said he saw the plane go down.

"The plane was right overhead and it was sputtering," Herrington said by phone. "Then it started a tumble and was doing circles on its way down. It nosedived into the field. Then we saw smoke. We assumed the worst." 

Police say the plane was completely burned and there are no bodies to recover.