(Naples) Two people died when a small plane attempted to make an emergency landing on Interstate 75 in southwest Florida Friday afternoon. The aircraft collided with a vehicle and blocked traffic as a plume of black smoke rose into the sky.
The collision occurred near the Pine Ridge Road exit in Collier County, just north of where the highway heads east toward Fort Lauderdale along what is known as Alligator Alley.
Brianna Walker saw the plane’s wing drag the car in front of hers and plow into a wall.
“There were only seconds between us and the car in front of us and the wing pulverized that car,” she said.
Mme Walker and his friend spotted the plane moments before it reached the highway, allowing the driver to react to avoid it.
“The plane was just inches above our heads,” she said. “He jerked the wheel and we crossed the highway to the right. »
PHOTO CHRIS O’CONNER VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mme Walker reported that an explosion subsequently occurred and pieces of the small plane littered the road.
“It seems unreal, like a movie,” she said. “A few seconds passed between the two of us. A few seconds that made the difference between life and death. »
The US Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a Bombardier Challenger 600. Five people were on board when the crash occurred around 3:15 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The plane had taken off from an Ohio State University airport in Columbus, Ohio, around 1 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Naples when it crashed, said Robin King, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Airport Authority. Naples. A pilot had contacted the tower to request an emergency landing, explaining that he had lost both engines.
The pilot was cleared to land on a runway, but responded, “We’re not going to reach the runway.” We lost both engines,” according to a tape of the call cited by the daily Naples Daily News.
The tower lost contact, and then airport workers saw smoke from the highway a few miles away, Mr. King said.
He said that fire trucks with special foam were sent to the scene, and that three of the five people on board the wreck of the aircraft were able to be rescued.
Collier County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Adam Fisher confirmed two deaths, but he did not immediately know if the victims were passengers on the plane or people who were on the highway.
According to plane tracker FlightAware, the plane was operated by Hop-a-Jet Worldwide Charter based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The plane was expected to return to Fort Lauderdale Friday afternoon.
In a statement Friday evening, Hop-a-Jet confirmed “an accident” involving one of its leased planes near Naples and that the company would send a team to the crash site, the Naples Daily News.
“Our immediate concern is the well-being of our passengers, crew members and their families,” said the statement, which provided no details about the crash.
A spokesperson for Ohio State University said the plane was not affiliated with the university and had no further information on the incident.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. An NTSB investigator arrived at the crash site Friday afternoon, and several more are expected to arrive Saturday. They will document the scene and examine the aircraft, which will then be taken to a secure facility for further evaluation. A preliminary report on the cause of the crash is expected within 30 days.