Broward officials identify two men killed after small plane crashes in the Everglades

The Broward Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released the names of the two men killed when a small plane crashed in the Everglades earlier this week.

Khadim Kebe, 37, of Texas and Mohamed Badenjki, 51, of North Miami Beach were found dead Wednesday at the crash site, several miles north of where Interstate 75 turns into Alligator Alley, the sheriff’s office said. It was not immediately known who was piloting the aircraft.

ATA Flight School, a North Perry Airport-based flight school tied to the crashed plane, did not respond Thursday to emails nor a call from the Miami Herald.

According to FAA and state records, the owner of the plane with the tail number N737VC is Florida General Aviation Corp. of Pembroke Pines. Kiria Martinez, the person listed as the company’s president, declined to comment. She is also listed as the president of the flight school.

The single-engine Cessna 172 took off from the Pembroke Pines airport, 101 SW 77th Way, around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement, and it went off the radar over the Everglades 13 minutes later, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Its destination was the Naples Municipal Airport, the NTSB said.

But it was not until 10:30 a.m. Wednesday that Broward deputies and firefighters were alerted about the missing aircraft, last detected near mile marker 28 of I-75, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

READ MORE: Crash of a small plane in the Everglades kills two men, Broward fire rescue says

It is unclear when the airplane, built in 1977, crashed. The Federal Aviation Administration told the Herald it sent an alert about the missing plane after 11 p.m. Tuesday but the agency did not say why it was sent nor which agencies received it. Representatives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the North Perry Airport said Thursday afternoon they were unaware of such an alert.

“As far as I can tell, the alert would not come to us,” said Miranda Grossman, a Broward Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.

The plane, ripped into pieces, was spotted about three miles north of I-75 in wetland water, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane said Wednesday. BSO firefighters and marine units launched airboats immediately after learning about the crash, reaching the site at 11:18 a.m., he said.

The men appeared to have been dead for “quite a while,” Kane told the Herald.

“The wreckage was spread over an area of about 150 yards,” the NTSB said. “All major components of the airplane were recovered and have been transported to a secure facility in Jacksonville for further examination by NTSB investigators this weekend.”

A preliminary crash report is expected in a few weeks, the NTSB said.

Plane crashes tied to North Perry Airport

The Everglades plane crash earlier this week is one of several tied to North Perry Airport in recent months.

The medium-sized general aviation facility built in 1943 is located six miles southwest of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, according to the FAA’s website. It is owned by Broward County and operated by the county’s Aviation Department.

With 416 aircraft based at North Perry and an annual number of arrivals, departures and other operations exceeding 263,209 in 2022, the airport is one of the busiest in the state, according to state and county officials. North Perry also has 45 aviation businesses and 11 flight schools.

The FAA through the airport’s Air Traffic Control Tower controls the airspace, airport spokeswoman Arlene Satchell said in an email Friday. Its air traffic control tower operation hours are from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the city of Pembroke Pines’ website.

“The BCAD (Broward County Aviation Department) has the authority to operate HWO (North Perry Airport), but does not have direct jurisdiction over piloting, aircraft maintenance/worthiness or flight operations,” Satchell said. “Additionally, BCAD does not have airspace oversight.”

Here is a list of the crashes that happened at or near the airport in 2023:

Oct. 26: A pilot was taken to the hospital after police said a small plane crashed near North Perry Airport.

Sept. 5: A single-engine plane crashed while landing at North Perry Airport.

Aug. 4: An instructor and a passenger were killed after a plane trying to take off crashed at North Perry Airport.

May 25: A small banner plane crashed at North Perry Airport and trapped the pilot.

May 17: A pilot killed after a banner plane that took off from North Perry Airport crashed near a Hollywood shopping center.

The area near the airport has seen at least six more plane crashes — some killing pilots and passengers — that have made headlines since November 2019.

In 2023, North Perry Airport passed its annual Florida Department of Transportation inspection with no discrepancies or issues for the 23rd consecutive year, Satchell said.

“While there has been an unfortunate series of aircraft incidents in the past few years with ties to HWO, it is important to note that there appears to be very few common threads between them (cause of crash, age of aircraft, pilot experience, etc.), except that these flights were flown to or from North Perry,” Satchell said.