A jet burst into flames after it crashed and collided with a vehicle on Interstate 75 in Collier County on Friday, killing two people and leaving three survivors.
The Florida Highway Patrol responded to the crash after 3:15 p.m. on the southbound lanes near mile marker 107 in Naples.
Five people were onboard the jet, according to the Florida Aviation Administration. The Collier County Sheriff's Office couldn't confirm whether the two people who died were from the jet or the car.
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The jet — a Bombardier Challenger 604 — had taken off from an airport at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, at about 1 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Naples around the time of the crash, Naples Airport Authority spokesperson Robin King said. In the audio of a call made to air traffic control, a pilot requested an emergency landing, saying they had lost both engines.
"We're clear to land, but we're not gonna make the runway. We've lost both engines," the pilot says.
The tower lost contact, and then airport workers saw the smoke from the interstate just a few miles away. King said they sent fire trucks with special foam to the scene, and three of the five people on board were taken from the wreckage alive.
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Robert Katz, a commercial pilot of 42 years and certified flight instructor, told NBC6 he doesn't believe the crash was maintenance-related.
"For both engines to fail simultaneously like that means someone pushed the wrong button at the wrong time and didn't verify what they were doing,” Katz said.
According to the FlightAware aircraft tracker, the jet was operated by Hop-a-Jet Worldwide Charter based in Fort Lauderdale. The aircraft had been scheduled to fly back to Fort Lauderdale Friday afternoon. Hop-a-Jet told NBC6 they did not wish to comment.
Video showed the aftermath of the fiery crash that sent plumes of black smoke into the sky.
Broward County resident Garrett Elsinger told NBC6 he was driving with his son to Tampa when they heard an explosion and saw orange flames and what they thought was a car accident.
"Within a few seconds, we were getting closer, and we're like, wait a minute — that's not a car, that's a plane," Elsinger said. "Thick, black smoke is billowing up and as we're getting closer, I'm like, that's not a small Cessna plane that you read about that came and landed on the highway, that's a jet — that's a big passenger plane."
Troopers closed I-75 for the investigation.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, and the FHP is investigating the highway crash.
The NTSB is requesting anyone with video of the 2/9/24 plane crash on Interstate 75 at mile marker 106 to contact the NTSB via the following email address: Witness@NTSB.gov
