Authorities reported that Two people died and three others were injured after a small plane crashed on a Florida highway Friday evening.
The plane crashed on Interstate 75 near Naples around 3:15 p.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Florida Highway Patrol indicated that The plane collided with a vehicle after allegedly experiencing failures in two engines. Witnesses said the plane’s wing dragged a car before crashing into a wall. An explosion followed, with flames and black smoke rising from the scene.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said sThe death of two people in the incident was confirmed, who were identified as: pilot Edward Daniel Murphy, 50, of Oakland Park, Florida; and second in command, Ian Frederick Hofmann, 65, of Pompano Beach, Florida.
Three other people survived the crash: a crew member and two passengers, according to the sheriff’s office.
The three survivors were captured on video by a passerby as they fled the rubble. Authorities later transported them to an area hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.
Five people were aboard the Bombardier Challenger 600 model plane, according to the FAA, which is investigating the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board.
The flight originated at Ohio State University Airport in Columbus, Ohio, according to the NTSB.
“The preliminary information we have is that the pilot radioed that the airplane had a twin-engine failure during the approach to Naples Airport,” the NTSB said in a statement Friday.
A preliminary report on the accident is expected within 30 dayssaid the agency.
“We have lost both engines”
Moments before the private jet crashed onto a Florida highway, The pilot had calmly told an airport controller that the plane “wasn’t going to make it to the runway.” because it had lost both engines.
“I have it. Emergency. Clear for landing. Clue. Two. Three,” the air traffic controller responded to the pilot, in an audio obtained by The Associated Press.
“We have permission to land, but we will not reach the runway. We have lost both engines,” the pilot responded calmly.
The tower lost contact and then airport workers saw smoke from the interstate just a few miles away, Naples Airport Authority spokesman Robin King said.
King said fire trucks with special foam were sent to the scene and three of the five people on board were pulled alive from the rubble.
Keep reading:
–VIDEO: Rescue helicopter crashed into a building in Florida
–Pilot of a small plane was injured after crashing in the Everglades
–Three dead after small plane crashes into mobile home in Florida