'We've lost both engines,' pilot said before private jet crashed onto Florida interstate, killing 2

Source: Associated Press

‘We’ve lost both engines,’ pilot said before private jet crashed onto Florida interstate, killing 2

BY SARA CLINE
Updated 4:28 PM EST, February 10, 2024

A pilot and co-pilot were identified as the two killed in a fiery plane crash on a Florida highway, law enforcement officials said Saturday afternoon.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office identified Edward Daniel Murphy, a 50-year-old pilot and co-pilot Ian Frederick Hofmann, 65, as the deceased. The three survivors were crew member Sydney Ann Bosmans, 23, and passengers Aaron Baker, 35, and Audra Green, 23, both of Columbus, Ohio. The three were taken to a local hospital for injuries. Their conditions are unknown.

Moments before the private jet slammed into a Florida highway, the pilot had calmly told an airport controller that the aircraft “was not going to make the runway” because it had lost both engines.

The jet, with five people aboard, was bound for the airport in Naples when it tried to make an emergency landing on Interstate 75 on Friday afternoon. But witnesses say it collided with a vehicle — the wing of the plane dragging a car before slamming into a wall. An explosion followed, with flames and black smoke rising from the scene.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/private-jet-lands-interstate-florida-0ba28196a96200135a3056a4fa614110