2 killed when small plane crashes into Pembroke Pines home
PEMBROKE PINES -- At least two people were killed when a small plane crashed Monday into a Miramar home, prompting an evacuation of at least half a dozen homes because of a fuel spill.
Video from Chopper 4 showed crews trying to extricate someone from the single-engine Aventura II small plane, that went down around 11:45 a.m. in the yard of a house located in the 2200 block of Jamaica Drive, about a half-mile from North Perry Airport.
Manyerenis Moreno told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that she was inside the home with her child.
"I was inside the house and on the phone with my Mom in the bedroom with my baby and I learn a loud noise and the plan was on top of us. I thought it was a transformer and so I grabbed my baby. It was a big noise and it was on top of us. I was afraid something was going to come through the roof and I went outside and saw the plane on the roof. The airplane was on top of the house. I was shocked. I am speechless. I am alive but my baby and I could have died. I was surprised this happened. This was very scary."
A witness named Rick, who did not provide his last name, said I was in the backyard doing work when I heard the plane and then I could see the plane coming down. It looked like it was trying to go back around but it didn't make it."
Donovan Russell, another witness, said "The plane was going up and down and then the engine sounded like it shut down and it hit the house."
Elizabeth Roman said her aunt was inside her home nearby.
"She was in the kitchen and she heard a loud boom and she went into her backyard and saw the smoke," she said. "What she heard from police was that the plane was dropping gasoline onto homes."
Cell phone video obtained from a CBS4 news source shows what he says is the plane taking off from North Perry Airport.
The Federal Aviation Authority said in a written statement that two people were on board the craft when it went down. Officials did not immediately say if the two fatalities were on the ground or inside the aircraft.
Officials also did not say where the plane originated from.
It was not immediately clear if any other injuries were reported from the incident, which also caused six homes to lose power after the aircraft apparently snapped power lines in the area.
Officials did not immediately say how many people were in the plane when it went down.
Live video from the scene showed the plane apparently perched upside down on the roof of a home in the neighborhood.
A spokesperson for Miramar police said several people called 911 to report the downed plane.
Spokeswoman Tania Rues said that six homes were evacuated as a precaution because of the fuel problem and power was shut down as well.
She said "The plane was leaking fuel and Miramar Fire Rescue responded and worked diligently for the safety of residents in their homes."
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were called to the scene, and firefighters were working to remove fuel that was leaking from the aircraft.
The NTSB will lead the investigation into what caused the crash.
