Coral Springs aircraft crash horror as police say ‘we have not discovered whole plane but’
The plane was delivering relief support to Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa when it crashed near houses and a nursery in Florida as police search for victims
A small aircraft plummeted into a residential neighbourhood in Coral Springs, Florida, on Monday as police launched a search for casualties. The crash happened at around 10.15am local time, near the 5000 block of Northwest 57th Way, situated just west of State Road 7 and south of the Sawgrass Expressway.
Aerial images showed the plane had torn through fencing and collided with trees in a residential garden before crashing into an artificial pond. Officials confirmed that no ground-based individuals were harmed, though the number of passengers aboard the aircraft remains unclear.
Coral Springs Fire Rescue teams reported that following an immediate response, divers carried out an initial search operation but failed to locate any casualties, reports the Express.
Coral Springs Deputy Fire Chief Mike Moser stated: “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.”
Police confirmed the scene remains active whilst the status of those on board has yet to be disclosed.
Creekside Drive between NW 53rd Drive was shut down as emergency crews worked to secure the area.
City of Fort Lauderdale officials revealed the Beechcraft King Air twin-turboprop aircraft had taken off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at 10:14am, bound for Montego Bay, Jamaica, to assist with relief operations following Hurricane Melissa.
Moser confirmed the aircraft avoided striking any residential properties, noting that the wreckage was scattered across a “quite extensive” area.
The incident is being probed by the Coral Springs Police Department, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), with no additional information available at present.
It comes after three pilots killed in the UPS cargo jet disaster were today named. UPS have confirmed Captain Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt, and International Relief Officer captain Dana Diamond were all killed in the crash in Kentucky.
In a statement, UPS said: “Words can’t express the sorrow we feel over the heartbreaking Flight 2976 accident.
“This continues to be an incredibly sad time for our entire UPS family, and as our CEO, Carol Tomé reminded us: ‘United, we are strong.”
A mum-of-two is also thought to have died in the UPS plane crash as a search continues to find Angela ‘Angie’ Anderson. The 45-year-old is among the nine people still missing after UPS Flight 2976 crashed and killed 13.
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