'A dear friend and great surgeon' lost in plane crash off Topsail Hill (UPDATED with PHOTOS)

SANTA ROSA BEACH — A Birmingham neurosurgeon and his female passenger died Saturday when his World War II-era stunt plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off South Walton County.

Authorities on Sunday confirmed they positively identified Dr. Herman Evan Zeiger Jr., 60, who was flying his AT-6 Texan in a formation with other airplanes on Saturday when it went down in the gulf.

Mike Gurspan, public information officer with the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, said Sunday the woman who was killed with Zeiger could not be positively identified. Her body was sent to the medical examiner’s office in Walton County for positive identification.

“We’re 99.9 percent sure who this person is. Until the medical examiner goes through dental records and can positively identify her, we can’t release her name,” Gurspan said.

An "open letter to patients, friends and colleagues of Dr. H. Evan Zeiger, Jr." posted on the Birmingham, Ala.-based Norwood Clinic's Web site also confirmed the doctor's death and said "our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Zeiger’s children and family." It did not name the passenger.

Zeiger and his wife vacation in the area about once a year said friend Dr. Joe Carnley.

“He was a dear friend of mine and a great surgeon. Probably one of the nicest guys you could ever know. He and his wife, both,” Carnley said Sunday night. (Though it has not been confirmed, Carnley said the woman was Zeiger’s wife, Peggy.)

The plane crashed at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday about a half-mile off Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. The T-6 was one of five aircraft flying together when the crash occurred, said Chris Johnson, officer of the day at the Coast Guard Station Destin.

Click to view a photo gallery of the crash scene »

To see photos of the formation flying moments before the crash, click here.

Carnley, a resident of Destin, said the planes were not a part of an air show but just a group of friends who enjoy getting together to fly and talk about the stunt planes. During World War II, the single-engine T-6 was used in pilot training. It remains a popular vintage aircraft.

Phillip McDonald witnessed the accident while on his YOLO board two miles away.

“It happened in the blink of an eye. This one plane just didn’t pull up when it was dive bombing down into the water. It was coming out of a flip and … it hit the water at a 70-degree angle at a super high rate of speed,” McDonald said.

The plane caused a huge plume of water to shoot up but made no sound. McDonald said the plane was not smoking or burning before it crashed. He said watching the crash was surreal.

“I knew when that plane hit that water, I just couldn’t think that anybody could survive an impact that was just that huge,” McDonald said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident. The wreckage will be pulled from the water Monday afternoon.