McALLEN, Texas -- A powerful Lake and Sumter County business owner was identified as the pilot who crashed his plane in Texas Monday. Four people were on the plane headed from Uvalde, Texas to Leesburg when it hit turbulence and crashed west of Corpus Christi.

Paul Mazak, 44, was a force in the community, personally, professionally and politically. His relatives were too sad to talk about their loss, but one of Mazak's longtime friends said the community will be missing much.

The driveway of Paul Mazak's relatively new home in Bushnell was lined with cars and trucks. Friends arrived at the home to comfort his widow Reba, his daughters, parents and his sister.

The property, dotted by Brahman Cattle, is a perfect portrait of the longtime cattleman who owned more than $31 million worth of property in Sumter County, much of it cattle ranch land.

Brahman Cattle are tough and resilient to the Florida elements. One of Mazak's friends says he was a strong man, with strong family values.

“His family always came first. You could see that with his involvement with kids, he was there to lend a helping hand. He helped people in need,” friend Jackie Jackson said.

Mazak often bought livestock from 4-H members to help them pay for college. He enjoyed hunting and frequently took friends to his hunting ranch in Texas.

But Monday just after 11:30am, something went horribly wrong as Mazak was flying three friends back to his hangar at Leesburg International Airport from Uvalde, Texas.

Mazak radioed that he was having trouble maintaining altitude in strong turbulence and there were thunderstorms in the area. His Beechcraft King Air went off the radar and went down on ranch land.

“He'll be greatly missed,” Jackson said.

One of Paul Mazak's passengers was Malcolm Lavender, who was a vice president for the cattle division of A. Duda and Sons in Oviedo. He worked for the Dudas’ for 33 years and was once married into the Duda family.

The other two passengers killed were identified as Rich Schiter and Chane Schiter.