A pastor and his daughter were killed while attempting to fly hurricane relief supplies to Montego Bay, Jamaica, on Monday. The pair was in the small aircraft that crashed shortly after takeoff in Florida.
Authorities in Coral Springs, Florida, confirmed the incident in a media release issued Monday afternoon. “The City of Coral Springs Police can confirm that two people tragically lost their lives as a result of a plane crash that occurred on November 10 at 10:19 a.m. The investigation is ongoing,” the statement read.
The victims have been identified as a Caymanian father and daughter. The father, 49-year-old Alexander Wurm, is a pastor who departed Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport on their Beech B100 King Air aircraft with his daughter, Serena Wurm, onboard. Pastor Wurm founded Ignite the Fire Cayman, a faith-based group focused on inspiring and equipping young people through outreach projects and evangelism throughout the Caribbean region.
Reports indicate that he and his daughter were travelling as part of a volunteer mission to deliver much-needed relief items in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. However, their small plane reportedly went down in someone’s yard in Coral Springs.
The supplies onboard included generators, medical kits, solar panels, tarpaulins, battery packs, and communications tools such as a Starlink system, all intended to assist western communities in Jamaica that were severely affected by the storm. Before the ill-fated flight, Wurms visited the island twice with relief supplies after the hurricane.
The Coral Springs Police Department is investigating the crash. The police confirmed that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) are assisting with the investigation. Police urged the residents in the Windsor Bay area, where the wreckage fell, to remain indoors due to lingering fuel odours and increased police activity.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Transport Minister Daryl Vaz confirmed that the aircraft was not authorised to land in Jamaica. He explained that while the plane had completed previous relief trips, this particular flight did not have the necessary landing permit.