The pilot of the plane that crashed on a Florida highway Friday, killing two people, told air traffic control that the Bombardier Challenger 600 business jet “lost both engines” just before arriving at the airport. He said he had no intention of doing so. Newly released audio shows the car collided with the road, clipping the vehicle and hitting a wall.
“Challenger Hop-A-Jet 823, we’ve lost both engines. It’s an emergency. We’re making an emergency landing,” the pilot calmly radioed to air traffic control at the Naples airport Friday afternoon.
Air traffic controllers responded that the pilot was cleared to land.
“We were cleared to land, but we couldn’t make it to the runway. We lost both engines,” the pilot said shortly before the plane crashed on Interstate 75 in Naples and burst into flames.
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The plane burst into flames after it crashed on an interstate in Naples, Florida, on Friday. (@jobarobinson / LOCAL NEWS X / TMX)
The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the accident, but the other three people on board survived. No one was killed on the ground.
The pilot was tentatively identified as Edward Daniel Murphy, 50, of Oakland Park, Florida. Deputy Pilot Ian Frederick Hoffman, 65, of Pompano Beach, Florida, said on Facebook Saturday, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office said.
One of the crew members, Sydney Ann Bosmans, 23, of Jupiter, Florida, survived, along with passengers Aaron Baker, 35, and Audra Green, 23, of Columbus, Ohio.
The survivors were taken to the hospital after the crash. Their status is unknown.
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The Bombardier Challenger 600 business jet departed from the Columbus, Ohio, airport in the early afternoon and headed to the Naples airport, where it was just a few miles away when it crashed.
Traffic was backed up for hours after the plane hit two vehicles and smoke was visible for miles.
“Our hearts are heavy and our thoughts go to those affected by Friday’s tragic events,” Naples Airport said in a statement.
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The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
