Boca Raton plane crash victims were headed to Florida State for teenager's college visit

Yahoo

15-04-2025

BOCA RATON — The three members of a Palm Beach County family killed Friday morning, when a six-seater Cessna 310 plane crashed in Boca Raton, were headed to Tallahassee for a college visit, according to a family friend.
The victims were identified Friday night by Boca Raton police as Robert Stark, 81, of Boca Raton; Stephen Stark, 54, of Delray Beach; and Brooke Stark, 17, also of Delray Beach.
The elder Starks were the grandfather and father of Brooke Stark, the teenager on board, said Matthew 'Whiz' Buckley, an FA-18 fighter pilot and former American Airlines pilot from Boca Raton. They also were both certified pilots, Federal Aviation Administration records show.
Buckley said Brooke, who was a senior at Atlantic High School, was considering attending Florida State University and the family was taking a trip to visit the school for the weekend.
"Brooke, she was an honor society girl," said Buckley, who added that Brooke was a cheerleader with his daughter, who's a junior at Boca Raton High school. "A beautiful soul, brilliant academic, daughter, older sister, just the nicest human being."
The Boca Raton Hurricane All Stars, Brooke Stark's cheerleading team, called her "a beacon of light," in a Saturday Instagram post.
"She not once ever entered the gym without a smile," the post read. "Her kind, compassionate, loving heart was inclusive and magnetic. Brooke is brilliant, hard working, positive and her cup is always nothing but full. Her spirit and energy will shine on forever and never be forgotten."
On Monday at Atlantic High School, students showed support by wearing blue and creating the hashtag #BlueforBrooke as a way to honor of their classmate and support the Stark family.
The Tallahassee-bound plane had departed Boca Raton Airport at around 10 a.m. and was in the air for about eight to 10 minutes before it hit the ground, said Kurt Gibson, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator. It made a series of bizarre loops while in the air, and witnesses said it was dangerously close to the ground before it crashed onto Military Trail near Glades Road, where — remarkably — it only affected one driver.
"These were two very, very experienced aviators," Buckley said. "These weren't weekend flyers, or anything like that. These two fellows were capable and knew what they were doing."
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The aircraft hit the ground and immediately erupted into flames, sending up large plumes of smoke visible from nearby homes, schools and offices. The crash did not directly hit anyone on the ground, but it forced a northbound driver of a 2017 Toyota Prius, Pablo Tafur, 24, to swerve and hit a tree, police said. Tafur, who suffered minor injuries, was able to exit the car and find safety despite being surrounded by fireballs and smoke.
Buckley described Stephen Stark, as a kind local business owner. He is survived by his wife and a younger daughter.
"Everybody loved him and and his dad," Buckley said of the Stark family. "Everybody in the aviation community is just so sad."
On Monday, a makeshift memorial of flowers and pictures at the scene of the tragedy was building on the side of the road northbound on Military Trail.
NTSB is leading an investigation into the crash. The standard procedure for the investigation will be a preliminary report in 30 days, followed by a 12-24 month report that will offer final analysis and probable cause for the crash.
Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at [e-mail] and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida plane crash: Victims were headed to Tallahassee for FSU visit