Latest news with #BocaRatonFireRescue
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Details come in after plane fatally crashes along North Military Trail
Boca Raton Fire Rescue determined the three passengers on the Cessna 310 did not survive after the plane fatally crashed alongside North Military Trail. The names of the three passengers on board have been released, along with one person who had non-life-threatening injuries and whose car was also involved in the incident, according to fire officials. The passengers on board the flight were Robert Stark (81), Stephen Stark (54), and Brooke Stark (17). Pablo Tafur, a 24-year-old Toyota driver, was injured. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) responded to the scene and is investigating the crash. Road closures along North Military Trail are expected to remain in place through the weekend. Boca Raton Police will provide an update when the roadway reopens. The general vicinity of the expected traffic and roadblocks can be viewed on the map below. Federal Aviation Administration officials said it was a Cessna 310 with three people on board. It had been airborne for less than 20 minutes. An eyewitness who works near the airport said that he is used to seeing low-flying planes, but this time, it was different. 'There was a rumble and everyone in the building felt it,' Miguel Coka said. 'We are all shocked.' 'I saw the plane, basically, turn, come back, and I heard it and saw it go over our building,' eyewitness Dillon Smith said. When it 'came back -- it looked like maybe it was going toward the airport.' The aircraft is believed to have had a mechanical issue. The FAA and the NTSB are investigating, with the NTSB spearheading the investigation. NTSB officials arrived at the scene Friday to begin collecting evidence and taking photos as part of their preliminary investigation. The wreckage and debris remaining after the crash will be taken to a salvage facility in Jacksonville for further investigation. The NTSB will release a preliminary report in 30 days, followed by a final report with the likely cause of the crash in 12 to 24 months. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Three dead as small plane crashes near Florida highway
Three people have been killed and one injured when a small plane crashed in South Florida near a major interstate highway and pushed a car onto railway tracks. Boca Raton Fire Rescue assistant chief Michael LaSalle said the crash that killed all three people on board emitted a fireball when it hit the ground, injuring a person in a nearby car. The Federal Aviation Administration identified the plane as a Cessna 310. It went down about 10.20am on Friday after departing from Boca Raton Airport bound for Tallahassee, the FAA said in an email. Fire officials told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the aircraft appeared to have pushed a car onto the railway tracks, leading to the tracks' closure. Update 12:16PM - View press conference on this morning's small plane crash in Boca Raton from Boca Fire Rescue. closures in the area until further notice:• Military Trail from Butts Rd and NW 19th Street• I-95 ramps to westbound Glades Rd• 2… — Boca Raton Fire Rescue (@BocaFireRescue) April 11, 2025 Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer said the investigation was just beginning. "We are deeply saddened to confirm that a plane crash occurred earlier today within our community. At this time, details are still emerging, and we are working closely with emergency responders and authorities," Singer said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic event. We ask for patience and respect for the families involved as investigations continue." The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, with the NTSB leading the probe. NTSB officials arrived at the scene on Friday afternoon and began collecting evidence and taking photos as part of their preliminary investigation. The plane wreckage will be taken to a salvage facility in Jacksonville for further investigation. The NTSB will release a preliminary report in 30 days, followed by a final report with the likely cause of the crash in 12 to 24 months. The small plane crashed in South Florida a day after a New York City sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River, killing the pilot and a family of five Spanish tourists.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
3 die when plane crashes, burns on railroad tracks near I-95 in Boca Raton, Florida
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Three people are dead after a small plane crashed and burned when trying to return to the Boca Raton Airport on Friday morning after reporting mechanical issues, officials say. The plane crashed short of the airport a little after 10 a.m., hitting a car and pushing it into a tree and onto the railroad tracks near Military Trail and Glades Road. The man in the car had non-life-threatening injuries, said Michael LaSalle, Assistant Fire Chief for Boca Raton Fire Rescue. The three victims have not yet been identified. Officials did not have their ages or genders Friday afternoon. An NTSB investigator is on the way and the state Fire Marshal is on scene. After crashing, the plane erupted into flames, sending up large plumes of smoke visible from nearby neighborhoods, schools and Interstate 95. Fire rescue crews put the fires out, Boca Raton Fire Rescue Service Lt. Karl Richards said. Jared Scarpato, 18, a freshman at Lynn University's flight school, was studying for his end of course exam when the university got a call over its 'Castle Ops' radio about an emergency. Another student pilot who was taking off had reported that the pilot of the plane had an issue with his rudder and was circling the airport but couldn't land. Scarpato, his instructor and other students went outside, where they saw the plane turning to try to return to the airport to land. 'I said to my instructor and everybody outside, he is too low,' Scarpato said. Planes are supposed to be about 1,000 feet in the air in the place where the pilot was, and the pilot was only about 200 feet up, recalled Justin Torres, 19, another student at Lynn who was walking to class at the school north of the crash scene when he saw the plane circling. As the plane was about to try to land on the runway, Scarpato said, they lost sight of the pilot. Then they saw 'a big explosion and a plume of smoke.' Five minutes later, they heard all of the sirens. Scarpato said witnessing the crash didn't make him rethink his career, maintaining that planes are safer than cars. 'It's devastating,' he said. 'I pray for the family. I know they (the people aboard the plane) were doing the best they can.' The plane, a Cessna 310, was headed to Tallahassee International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Military Trail is closed between Northwest 19th Street and Butts Road. The Interstate 95 overpass at Glades Road eastbound and westbound reopened by about 2 p.m., according to the Boca Raton Police Department. According to Tri-Rail, a bus bridge has been established between the Deerfield Beach and Boca Raton stations, with rail service continuing south of Deerfield Beach and north of Boca Raton. 'However, riders may want to seek alternative transportation due to expected delays,' Tri-Rail wrote in a statement on X. Dylan Smith, 32, said he was on the phone with a client on the fourth floor of the nearby Steel Commander Corp building when he saw the plane and noticed how low it was flying. It almost appeared like it was going to hit another corporate building nearby, he said. Smith went to the window to watch as the plane performed a U-turn before dropping below the tree line. Then the glass of the windows shook and a mushroom cloud of smoke and flames billowed out from the trees. He knew the plane had crashed. 'I was in disbelief,' he said. 'I don't think people want to see that everyday or ever expect to see that in their lifetime.' A Boca Raton High School student wrote on X that they watched as the plane flew over the school 'super low' before it crashed. The school is on the east side of the interstate. 'Could have been much worse with the mall, high school (and) colleges around here. Prayers for everyone so tragic,' the student wrote. Richards said the scene is still active, and the city's fire rescue crews are working with the police department to determine details. The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA also will investigate, with the NTSB leading the investigation and providing updates, according to the FAA. 'We are deeply saddened to confirm that a plane crash occurred earlier today within our community. At this time, details are still emerging, and we are working closely with emergency responders and authorities,' Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer said in a statement. 'Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic event. We ask for patience and respect for the families involved as investigations continue.' This crash comes one day after a sightseeing helicopter plunged into the Hudson River in New York, killing six people. The Boca Raton Airport has a light history of fatal accidents since it was taken private after World War II, according to a list compiled by a service of the Flight Safety Foundation: — June 2000: A Learjet 55 collided after takeoff at 2,400 feet southwest of the airport with an Extra – EA3005, which had departed the Pompano Air Park. Four people aboard the planes were killed. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board blamed the pilots for failing to maintain a 'visual lookout' for other planes. — August 1956: A Fairchild C-82A returning from the Miami area on an agricultural spraying mission crashed on approach to the airport after an engine failure, killing all five aboard. — In February of this year, an Embraer Praetor 600 jet suffered a bird strike during a charter flight near the airport that damaged the plane's nose. There were no reported injuries. According to its website, the Boca Raton Airport serves recreational and corporate aircraft and is also a facility for flight training. It averages more than 83,000 operations annually. Business traffic has increased over the past several years as more companies have relocated to the area from other parts of the country, local officials have said. 'I am incredibly grateful to the first responders, law enforcement officers and emergency personnel who arrived with urgency and bravery at the scene. Their swift action helped prevent further tragedy in an unthinkable situation,' Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton, said in a statement. 'The loss of life in such a sudden and violent manner is heartbreaking, and my thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those affected.' ______ (Florida Sun Sentinel staff writer David Lyons contributed to this report.) _____
CNN
11-04-2025
- General
- CNN
3 people killed after small plane crashes on busy Boca Raton street
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transporation Safety Board will investigate a small plane that crashed along a busy street and erupted into a fireball just outside the Boca Raton, Florida, airport Friday morning. Three people who were onboard the twin-engine Cessna 310 when it crashed were killed, according to Michael LaSalle, assistant fire chief with Boca Raton Fire Rescue. A man who was driving a car in the area was also injured after hitting a tree due to debris and fire from the crash. He suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital, LaSalle said. 'We are deeply saddened to confirm that a plane crash occurred earlier today within our community,' Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer said in a statement. 'Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic event. We ask for patience and respect for the families involved as investigations continue.' The plane took off from Boca Raton about 10 a.m. and was headed to Tallahassee, officials said. About 10:12 a.m. Boca Raton fire and police dispatch received a call for a plane in trouble and the aircraft crashed at 10:20 a.m., according to LaSalle and the FAA. The aircraft apparently had 'some mechanical issues,' the assistant fire chief said. Data from FlightRadar24 shows the aircraft made repeated loops around the airport before the crash. 'I heard it like zooming by a couple of times and then whew - a plane crashed,' one witness said on video posted to social media. 'The whole building shook,' another man noted. CNN's David Goodman contributed to this report. Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the time when the plane departed the Boca Raton airport. It took off at 10 a.m.
Al Arabiya
11-04-2025
- General
- Al Arabiya
Three killed, one injured in plane crash in South Florida
Three people were killed and one was injured when a small plane crashed Friday morning in South Florida near a major interstate highway and pushed a car onto railroad tracks, officials said. Boca Raton Fire Rescue assistant chief Michael LaSalle said the plane crash that killed all three people on board emitted a fireball when it hit the ground, injuring a person in a nearby car. LaSalle said several roads near the Boca Raton Airport will remain closed near Interstate 95. The Federal Aviation Administration identified the plane as a Cessna 310 with three people on board. It went down about 10:20 a.m. after departing from Boca Raton Airport bound for Tallahassee, the FAA said in an email. Fire officials told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the aircraft appeared to have pushed a car onto the railroad tracks, leading to the tracks' closure. Josh Orsino, 31, said he was stopped at a red light at a nearby overpass when he heard a loud explosion and saw a huge fireball come toward him. 'We're just sitting there, and I see the palm trees start catching on fire,' Orsino said. 'I thought it was an oil rig or a car crash type thing.' Orsino said everyone was honking and trying to get off the overpass, not sure if it was going to collapse. 'So I didn't know if the fire was going to come toward the vehicles, I mean, my first instinct was like, I got to get off this bridge. I'm getting out of here,' Orsino said. Miguel Coka, 51, who works near the Boca Raton airport, said he is used to seeing planes flying low as they prepare to land. But this time, he and his colleagues noticed something was off. 'There was a rumble and everyone in the building felt it,' he said when the plane crashed. 'We are all shocked.' He captured the smoke and flames from the crash from his office balcony on video. Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer said the investigation was just beginning. 'We are deeply saddened to confirm that a plane crash occurred earlier today within our community. At this time, details are still emerging, and we are working closely with emergency responders and authorities," Singer said in a statement. 'Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic event. We ask for patience and respect for the families involved as investigations continue.' The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, with the NTSB leading the probe. The small plane crash in South Florida comes a day after a New York City sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River, killing the pilot and a family of five Spanish tourists.
