PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — A small plane plowed into to passing car and then erupted into the flames near a fence separating the North Perry Airport from a residential neighborhood in Pembroke Pines on Monday. The crash killed the pilot and passenger on board.
The impact left a trail of fire and plane debris and sent the SUV spinning. A young boy was trapped inside. The driver, who officials said may be his mother, was able to pull herself from the wreckage.
The Beechcraft Bonanza plane had just departed the North Perry Airport and was returning to the airport about 3 p.m. Monday, said Pembroke Pines Fire Chief Marcel Rodriguez. It’s possible the plane had a mechanical problem, Rodriguez said.
As it was heading back to the airport, the six-seater plane clipped a power line and then crashed into an SUV that was headed north on Southwest 72nd Avenue. Video from a Ring camera at a house on Southwest 13th Street shows the plane crashing into the SUV.
The child is in critical condition and the woman is in serious condition at Memorial Regional Hospital, Rodriguez said.
Salah Elshaer, 17, lives down the street from the crash. He said he had just left his house and was driving west on Southwest 13th Street when he heard a loud jarring noise.
“I got here and it was just flames,” he said.
He said he called 911. While he was on the phone with dispatchers and recording video on his phone, he heard another bang from the airplane.
“I just felt bad thinking about the pilot’s family, and the people over in the car who were hurt,” he said. “It’s sad because this is not the first time this has happened here in this residential area.”
There are several flight schools at the North Perry airport. It was not clear Monday whether the pilot was a student.
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