A small turboprop aircraft involved in hurricane relief efforts for Jamaica crashed early Monday morning into a pond within a gated residential area in Coral Springs, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. The crash resulted in the deaths of two individuals shortly after takeoff, with no damage to nearby homes. The Coral Springs Police Department confirmed the fatalities but did not disclose further information about the plane’s occupants.
Emergency teams, led by Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Moser, swiftly responded to the crash site following a distress call. Initially, no survivors were found, prompting a shift from rescue to recovery operations. Though no residences were harmed, debris was observed near the pond where the plane went down, as seen in aerial footage showing a damaged fence in a backyard.
A local resident, Kenneth DeTrolio, recounted how the plane crashed through his property, destroying his fence, uprooting palm trees, and submerging into the water. The impact scattered debris across his yard and left his pool and porch contaminated with spilled fuel, causing a strong odor within his home that lingered for hours.
The aircraft, a Beechcraft King Air model manufactured in 1976, took off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport and crashed soon after departure. Federal Aviation Administration records indicate the aircraft’s capacity to seat between seven and twelve individuals. The plane, registered under International Air Services, had recently made multiple trips to and from Jamaica before the fatal crash.
Broward County, the departure and crash location, boasts a vibrant Caribbean American community that had rallied to provide aid following Hurricane Melissa’s destructive impact on Jamaica as a Category 5 storm. Authorities will lead recovery efforts, while federal aviation officials will investigate the crash’s cause to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident.