A small plane carrying five passengers crashed on Interstate 75 near Naples, on Friday afternoon, bursting into flames and killing two people, according to officials. They stated three people on board were able to escape out of the jet.
The Bombardier Challenger 600 series jet crashed on the roadway at 3:15 p.m., according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration. It was not immediately known if anyone on the ground was wounded.
Taking to X, FAA 787 Captain & Flight Instructor Majed stated: "Omg 🚨 2 dead in plane crash on I-75 in Naples: officials Massive plane crash: Private aircraft crashes into car on I-75 near Naples - massive delays A small plane crashed on the I-75 in Collier County near Pine Ridge Rd, in Florida."
According to preliminary data, the plane's pilot radioed that it had experienced a twin engine failure as it neared Naples Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement on Friday, New York Times (NYT) reported. The agency stated that it would not comment on the cause behinf the incident during their initial phases of its inquiry.
The visuals emerging from the scene of the plane crash showed the aircraft’s fuselage on fire and a large plume of smoke billowing above the site.
The director of communications for Naples Airport Robin King stated that the plane departed from Ohio State University Airport in Columbus.
“They were scheduled to land about 3:15 here in Naples, and about two or three minutes before that, our tower received word from the pilots that they have, quote, lost both engines,” King was quoted as saying by NYT in its report.
He further stated: “We don’t know exactly what that means. We lost contact.”