Small plane crash in South Florida kills 3
April 11 (UPI) -- Three people aboard a small propeller plane headed, died in a crash on a major road in Boca Raton, Fla., Friday morning, not far from the city's airport, officials said.
One man driving in a car had minor injuries.
The Cessna 310, headed for Tallahassee, crashed at 10:13 a.m. after departing from the airport, Boca Raton police said. The crash was just west of Interstate 95 and east of Town Center at Boca Raton.
"The aircraft apparently had some mechanical issues and went down here on Military Trail," Boca Raton Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Michael LaSalle said during a news conference. "Also there was a car on the ground."
There were no other injuries.
"It's non-life-threatening injuries. We treated him and sent him to the hospital," LaSalle said. "He drove through, apparently, the fireball; this is unconfirmed."
Pablo Tifur told WPTV-TV he was driving his white Toyota Prius when he crashed and suffered first-degree burns on his arm.
"Next thing I know, I hear it right on top of me, it hits the road in front of my car, I crash into it, go into the flames, slammed on the brakes, jumped the curb, hit that palm tree over there and I'm trapped in the fire," Tilfur, 24, said.
"Just lucky to be here."
Late Friday, Boca Raton police identified the victims as Robert Stack, 81, of Boca Raton; and Stephen Srark, 54, and Brooke Stark, 17, of Delray Beach. The pilot among them wasn't identified.
Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer said at the scene: "We can be grateful in tragic moments like this for the swift action of Boca Raton Fire Rescue Department and our Boca Raton Police Department who worked to minimize the harm and especially to the immediate needs from the fire."
The National Transportation Safety Board is the lead investigator.
NTSB investigator Kurt Gibson said at a news conference Friday night data indicated the plane, which was built in 1977, was in the air "approximately eight to 10 minutes."
The Boca Raton Police Department closed roads on Military Trail as well as an I-95 overpss not far from the state-owned Boca Raton Airport.
Tri-Rail, Amtrak and freight train service were impacted between Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach because of debris on the tracks.
The flight-tracking website Flightradar 24 reported the plane was a Cessna 310R headed from Boca Raton to Tallahassee.
The website's tracking shows the plane doing several loops in the area shortly after taking off and before the crash.
Witnesses reported seeing the plane flying low before it began circling, presumably in an attempt to return.
"I saw the plane, basically, turn, come back, and I heard it and saw it go over our building," Dillon Smith, who was at his office, told WPBF-TV.
He said couldn't see the plane and then "came back -- it was looking like maybe it was going toward the airport."
The Cessna 310R is a low-wing, dual-engine propeller aircraft capable of carrying between four and six people.
Gibson, the NTSB investigator, described the Cessna 310 as having a "very long history of being a safe aircraft." He said he didn't know about any mechanical problems with the plane
He said the wreckage will be analyzed in Jacksonville.
Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
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