Two people were killed after a tiny plane crashed Friday afternoon on Interstate 75 near Naples, Florida, and collided with a vehicle, according to officials. The wreck occurred shortly after a pilot reported an issue to an air traffic controller.
Below is the official tweet from FOX 29:
2 dead in plane crash on I-75 in Naples: officials https://t.co/EcyBwpuU8v
— FOX 29 (@FOX29philly) February 9, 2024
The Bombardier Challenger 600, which crashed at 3:15 p.m. ET, was carrying five people, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
FlightAware tracking data shows that the plane took off from the Ohio State University Airport shortly after 1 p.m. and was expected to land at Naples Airport before flying to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.
According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, the crash killed two people. Three people survived, according to Robin King, a spokesperson for the Naples Airport Authority. King had no idea what the three survivors’ circumstances were.
Brianna Walker, a witness, was traveling on I-75 when the plane swooped in from behind her, clipping the top of a pickup truck in front of her, colliding with the highway, and skidding for approximately 30 feet before crashing into a concrete wall and bursting into flames, she told CNN in a phone interview.
The truck, which had its roof removed by the contact, crashed into a median and flipped over, she added. The driver of the pickup walked out and “looked OK,” Walker added. Walker reported that the plane’s pilot appeared to be attempting to land on the highway.
“It was unreal. “Like a movie,” she explained. According to Walker’s video of the event, an explosion erupted from the jet roughly a minute after it crashed. According to the video, the plane had already caught fire and was producing dense, black smoke.
Motorists stopped to help in the aftermath of the incident, but the subsequent explosion sent people fleeing, according to Walker.
Before the Incident, an Emergency Was Announced
A pilot reported an emergency to air traffic authorities shortly before the plane slammed into the highway, according to aircraft monitoring data.
“Lost both engines. “Emergency,” a pilot stated in transmissions collected by LiveATC.net. “Make an emergency landing.”
An air traffic controller cleared the plane onto the runway while instructing another aircraft to hold short of it. The pilot responded in the final recording from the aircraft: “Cleared to land, but we’re not going to make the runway.”
The Florida Highway Patrol said that the incident occurred in the southbound lanes near Pine Ridge Road. The sheriff’s office stated a substantial portion of the roadway was closed following the incident, but it did not specify when it would reopen. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
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