Two people remain dead after a small Beechcraft King Air private aircraft crashed in Coral Springs, Florida, shortly after takeoff from Fort Lauderdale today. The airplane, which was traveling to Jamaica loaded with hurricane relief supplies. The crash occurred just before 10:20, in the Windsor Bay community. Coral Springs Fire Rescue responded to the event, and a dive team also performed a preliminary inspection of the nearby water; however did not locate any further victims.
The flight had departed from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), a general aviation airport located in Broward County, Florida, around five miles from downtown. Local police and divers have been conducting a recovery mission, and did not find any additional pieces of fuselage on the initial dive. The entire plane is yet to be relocated as they believe it broke into smaller pieces during impact.
Destined For Jamaica
The aircraft had left Fort Lauderdale, en route to Montego Bay Sangster International Airport (MBJ), Jamaica, with hurricane relief supplies onboard. It was heading to Jamaica to support relief efforts following the destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa. Initial aerial footage of the crash site shows that the Beechcraft King Air had hit several trees and taken out part of the backyard fence before crashing into a small lake. Chopper 6 of NBC Miami reported that the plane’s wheels were scattered across the lawn in a backyard next to a pool, while also observing first responders at the scene. The plane did not come into contact with any houses.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB) are working with officials on the ground to understand the cause of the incident. The debris field has been referred to as ‘very large’, and noted that if locals locate pieces of evidence, please contact local authorities to hand them in. Coral Springs Deputy Fire Chief Mike Moser shared this statement, as shared by NBC Miami:
“We do have our police department here with their divers as well, they’ll be conducting a recovery mission shortly, we were unable to find any victims or any large pieces of fuselage on our initial dive. We have not found an entire plane yet, we believe that it may be broken into smaller pieces, we don’t know yet of course, this is very preliminary.”
Significant Police Presence
Locals can expect a strong odor of aviation fuel to remain for the next couple of days, as this could take time to dissipate. In this case, it is recommended that locals in the immediate vicinity avoid being outdoors for long periods of time and keep windows and doors closed overnight. Emergency services are expected to have a significant presence over the next 48 hours as preliminary findings are established and evidence is collected.
Witnesses on the ground have noted hearing the loud explosion and seeing parts of the aircraft along the sides of the water. Zane Smith, a resident in the area, noted how fast the incident occurred and also commended how quickly first responders arrived at the scene.
Simple Flying extends its condolences to the families of the two individuals killed in the incident.
The Aftermath Of Hurricane Melissa At MBJ
Montego Bay Sangster International Airport was one of the airports most affected by the destructive path of Hurricane Melissa. According to Brookfield Aviation, part of the airport terminal infrastructure was damaged, including the section of the terminal between gates one to five. This has left his part of the airport inoperable and will require significant investment and maintenance to bring this back up to acceptable standards. Adjacent gates six and seven are also closed. The remaining 12 gates at the airport have sustained minimal damage.
As shared by Sanster International Airport, more than 20 technical specialists from Aeropuertosgap have been supporting clean-up and restoration efforts at the airport, including restoring critical equipment, ensuring safe and reliable airport operations, and getting the airport back to normal operations.
MBJ remains open and operational, with relief and commercial flights operating. It is recommended that passengers check the status of their flight before traveling to the airport. The airport is also supporting airport employees with a new dedicated bus service between the Harbor City Mall and the Airport, costing just JMD $100 ($0.62) with various departure times across the day.
