Small plane crashes into Pompano Beach home; 3 injured

A single-engine prop plane crashed into at least one home shortly after takeoff from Pompano Beach Airpark, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

At about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Leah Read, a senior investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board, was at the crash scene.

Read told reporters she plans to document the site, including impact markings and the configuration of the airplane.

Later Tuesday, a salvage crew will haul away the airplane to a secure location.

The crash in the 900 block of Northeast 26th Ave. in Pompano Beach damaged the home and caused a fire, said Sandra King, a spokeswoman for Pompano Beach Fire Rescue.

King said two men and one woman were on board the plane, and all three were taken to the hospital in critical condition. No one on the ground was injured, King said.

Pompano Beach Fire Chief John Jurgle told WPLG-ABC 10 the men and woman suffered “severe burn injuries.” King said two of the injured — one of whom was airlifted — were taken to Broward Health Medical Center. The third person was taken to Broward Health North.

Silvia Coello was listed in critical condition on Tuesday, according to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Information on the other people aboard was not available.

The plane went down behind 918 Harbor Dr./26th Avenue. It clipped a corner of roof next door at 912 where part of roof gutter and window shade were torn and a corner of the roof appeared black from fire.

Rita Pizzo who lives across street was at home when the plane went down.

 

"I was having lunch with my son and we heard a loud boom. My son looked at me and said that's a plane crash."

Her son Mason, 23, bolted across the street and into 912, his mom said.

"He went into a burning house," she said. He tried but couldn't open the back sliding door.

He rushed back home to grab a fire extinguisher. Rescuers quickly arrived and Rita saw the three victims on the front lawns. Mason offered one victim, a woman, water, his mom said.

"She was really out of it," Rita said

 

The plane went down in a backyard by a pool.

 

"Had it been summer and kids were out at the pool or barbecues it could have been really tragic," she said.

The Hawker Beechcraft 76 aircraft left the airpark at about 3 p.m., according to the FAA. Records show the plane is owned by a corporation in Wyoming.

“The pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings when the accident occurred,” Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the FAA, said in an e-mail.

Neighbors told Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS4 that no one was home at the time of the crash.

News reports show the charred plane, in pieces, near a nicely manicured home.

The Sun Sentinel reported that smoke from the plane could be seen from 10 miles south, in Fort Lauderdale.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Small plane crashes into Pompano Beach home; 3 injured."