A ‘mass casualty event’ took place in Clearwater, Florida on Thursday evening as a small plane crashed into a mobile home park. The incident resulted in the death of the pilot and potentially a resident, causing fires in four trailers.
The plane was a Beechcraft 35 Bonanza, a single-engine aircraft that took off from Vero Beach Regional Airport at 6:08 p.m. local time, according to FlightAware data.
It was heading to Clearwater, a city near Tampa and St. Petersburg, where it was supposed to land at the Clearwater Airpark. However, the pilot, a 62-year-old man, reported an engine failure to the air traffic control and declared a “mayday, mayday, mayday,” as the fire chief Scott Ehlers said at a press conference. The plane then veered and crashed into the Bayside Waters mobile home park, also known as Japanese Garden, around 7:15 p.m.
The crash was captured on video by some witnesses who shared it on X, a social media platform. The footage showed a thick cloud of white smoke rising from the wreckage and the flames engulfing the trailers.
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Authorities’ response
The Clearwater Police Department and the Clearwater Fire and Rescue Department arrived at the scene shortly after the crash, along with other emergency crews. They found the pilot dead inside the plane and suspected that a resident of the first trailer also perished in the fire. Ehlers said that identifying the victims would be a “tedious task” because of the severe damage to the bodies and the plane.
Emergency responders swiftly controlled and put out the fire, with no additional injuries or fatalities reported among the mobile home park residents. Nevertheless, the presence of police officers upset some residents, who requested them to vacate the area.
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FAA is conducting an detailed investigation
The cause of the crash is still unknown, and it is unclear how many passengers were on board the plane besides the pilot. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will conduct a joint investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of the accident. The NTSB will be the lead agency and will provide any updates on its website.
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