A Bacardi family member and company director was among those killed in a plane crash Monday in Miami, Florida.

Mr. Danguillecourt was ? along with his wife Jacqueline Kriz Danguillecourt ? among 16 passengers and two crew members onboard when the Chalk Ocean Airways seaplane crashed in the water near South Beach shortly after takeoff Monday.

Mr. Danguillecourt, 42, was a member of the company?s board of directors and great-great grandson of Bacardi founder, Don Facundo Bacardi.

?Sergio was an exceptional human being, a valued member of the board, and represented the continuation of the same love of the company and family that his forefathers instilled into the Bacardi culture,? said Facundo L. Bacardi, Chairman of the Board of Bacardi Limited. ?Our thoughts and our prayers are with his two sons, his family and the entire Kriz family. They will be greatly missed.?

The 1940?s era propellor-driven Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard had been en route to the island of Bimini, a favourite destination of yachters and deep-sea fishermen.

An amateur video broadcast on television showed the plane, trailed by a fiery object and think black smoke, slamming into the water. The National Transportation Safety Board inquiry will likely take nine months or more.

Mr. Danguillecourt was elected to the Board of Directors in 1992 and has served on the Audit Committee since 1998.

He began his career in sales for Bacardi Spain from 1982-1984 and he worked his way up to become a senior marketing executive at Bacardi U.S.A. before leaving the company in 1992 to concentrate on outside interests.

?Sergio had many friends throughout the company. This loss leaves us all deeply saddened. The Bacardi family and company are very proud of the legacy Sergio leaves behind and we will continue working towards achieving the goals he helped create,? added Mr. Bacardi.

Mr. Danguillecourt received a BA in economics from Manhattanville College in New York, where he was also a director of the college.

The couple lived in Miami although Mr. Danguillecourt travelled to Bermuda on Bacardi business.