A plane bound for Jamaica with hurricane relief supplies crashed in Coral Springs, Florida, on Monday morning. The incident occurred shortly after 10 a.m. in a residential area near the 5000 block of Northwest 57th Way. The location sits just west of State Road 7 and not far from the Sawgrass Expressway.
According to officials, the small aircraft went down in a pond in a yard after clipping trees and a fence in the backyard of a nearby home. Emergency crews quickly arrived at the scene, including Coral Springs Fire Rescue and a dive team, who searched the scene for any signs of survivors.
Deputy Fire Chief Mike Moser shared that the initial dive did not reveal any victims or major sections of the plane. “We were unable to find any victims or large pieces of fuselage on our first dive,” Moser said, noting that the preliminary report suggests that the aircraft may have broken apart upon impact.
Authorities confirmed that no residents on the ground were injured. Authorities have not yet been able to confirm the number of occupants that were aboard the aircraft.
Officials later identified the aircraft as a Beechcraft King Air twin-turboprop that had departed from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport around 10:14 a.m. The plane was reportedly en route to Montego Bay, Jamaica, to assist in ongoing hurricane relief efforts after the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
Coral Springs Police have since secured the area and launched an investigation alongside federal aviation officials. Roads in the vicinity, including parts of Creekside Drive and Northwest 53rd Drive, were temporarily closed as recovery operations continued throughout the day.
“Fortunately, the plane did not strike any houses when it entered the water,” Moser added, emphasising that the debris field was extensive. He also urged local residents to report any wreckage that may have landed in their yards or nearby streets to authorities.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have joined local investigators in determining what caused the crash. As of now, officials have not released any information on the occupants or the full extent of the wreckage recovered from the pond.
