The three people killed when a small plane crashed into a mobile home in Clearwater, Florida, on Thursday have been identified, police said Saturday.
The plane, a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35, crashed into a residential area around 7pm local time, causing a fire that destroyed several homes around Bayside Estates, a large mobile home community. Video from the scene shows a huge fireball erupting from the park.
The pilot, who was the only person on board the plane, was killed. Clearwater police said the man’s name is Jemin Patel, 54, of Melbourne Beach, Florida.
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The other two victims were on the ground when the plane crashed. They have been named as Martha Parry, 86, who lived in the park in Clearwater, and Mary Ellen Pender, 54, who was visiting the mobile home.
Police said as many as nine people were in the mobile home on Pagoda Drive shortly before the plane crash, but all but two left the residence.
“My thoughts are with the three victims and their families. This tragedy could have been much worse,” Police Chief Eric Gandy said in a statement on Facebook.
Police plan to maintain the scene until Saturday, when the wreckage is scheduled to be removed by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane took off from Vero Beach earlier in the day.
CBS News reported that Patel had reported “some trouble” to air traffic controllers at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport shortly before the crash, but the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that he was suffering from “engine failure.” He said that he had reported.
The pilot reported engine trouble before crashing into a mobile home park. (Credit: Clearwater Fire and Rescue Department)
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A released audio recording provided clues to what happened before the deadly plane crash.
Obtained via audio from air traffic control tower by FOX13the pilot is heard talking to the tower before the fatal crash.
“I can’t see any other airports,” the pilot is heard saying. “The engine is broken.”
“Oh, huh,” said the pilot.
In the audio, another pilot who witnessed the crash can be heard reacting to the fiery collision that destroyed multiple mobile homes.
The pilot said after the crash that it was a “hard crash.” “They’re in flames.”
“It looks like there was a building fire. It looks like it went into the building,” he added.
Bayside Waters residents watched as emergency workers responded after a small plane crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida. (Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
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in 3 and a half years–In the several-minute recording, the pilot who witnessed the crash can be heard trying to pinpoint the exact location of where the plane crashed.
“He’s definitely in the house. The whole house is demolished,” the pilot said. “I just saw him go down very fast.”
At a news conference Thursday night, Clearwater Fire Chief Scott Ehlers said the fire spread to three other homes.
