3 killed, including pilot and 2 others, after plane crashes into Florida mobile home
A small plane crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida, on Thursday after the pilot reported an engine failure. The crash set nearby homes on fire and led to several deaths, authorities say.
Four mobile homes caught fire in the Bayside Waters mobile home park, located near Tampa, after the crash, according to the Clearwater Fire and Rescue Department.
Fire Chief Scott Ehlers said at a Thursday evening news conference that the fatalities included both people inside the plane and the homes.
The Federal Aviation Administration's preliminary incident report released Friday shows the fatalities include the pilot and two people on the ground. The pilot was the only person on board the aircraft, the FAA said.
"Please understand that we are working through a very complicated scene. There's gonna be a lot of agencies that are here are gonna keep responding in to help coordinate in the investigation of actually what happened," Ehlers said.
'Mayday, mayday, mayday': Pilot signaled engine failure before crash
Ehlers said the fire department received a call of a structure on fire at Bayside Waters, also known as Japanese Gardens, shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday. Simultaneously, airport officials received a distress call.
"The (airport) tower ... was able to get radio transmission from the pilot that he was having a 'mayday, mayday mayday,' and the aircraft went off the radar about 3 miles north of the runway," Ehlers said. Aircraft response vehicles also responded to the scene, a critical resource for putting out large fires, he said.
Video in the aftermath of the crash shows flames still burning and smoke billowing out of the unrecognizable remains of a mobile home. Ehlers said the plane was found inside one of the mobile homes.
We’re on scene of a small plane crash at a mobile home park south of Clearwater Mall. Multiple mobile homes have caught fire. Firefighters from multiple jurisdictions are on scene. pic.twitter.com/1vBLnTnY8R
— Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department (@clearwaterfire) February 2, 2024
The pilot of the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35 reported an engine failure shortly before the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration told USA TODAY.
People living in the surrounding mobile homes were evacuated from the area.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clearwater, Florida plane crash: 3 killed include pilot, 2 others
