A small plane crashed in Boca Raton, Florida, on Friday morning, killing all three people on board, according to local officials and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The “aircraft had apparently some mechanical issues and went down here on Military Trail,” Michael LaSalle, assistant fire chief for Boca Fire Rescue, said at a news conference. “Also, there was a car on the ground.”
According to LaSalle, one man in the car sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
“He hit a tree because of all the debris and the fire,” LaSalle informed me.
The Cessna 310R took off from Boca Raton Airport at 10:15 a.m. and was en route to Tallahassee International Airport, the FAA said. It was in the air for about eight to ten minutes before crashing, according to Kurt Gibson, an aviation accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.
According to Gibson, the aircraft will be transported to an NTSB facility, where investigators are gathering video and interviewing witnesses as part of the agency’s investigation into the crash. During a press briefing on Friday, he stated that a preliminary report is expected within 30 days.
Dillon Smith was in his office when he noticed the plane flying “extremely low” and appearing to hit the roof of a nearby building, according to West Palm Beach ABC affiliate WPBF.
“I saw the plane, basically, turn, come back, and I heard it and saw it go over our building,” according to Smith.
He lost sight of the plane, but then “came back — it was looking like maybe it was going toward the [nearby Boca Raton] airport.”
“I just saw it drop below the trees” and “heard a boom,” Smith said. He claimed his office windows shook and he saw a “fireball.”
The video shows what appears to be the small plane’s wreckage on railroad tracks near a road. The fire started by the crash has been extinguished.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and all those affected,” Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer said.
