Neighbors Rush To Help After Plane Crashes Into Pompano Beach Home
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POMPANO BEACH (CBSMiami) – A plane crashed into a Pompano Beach home Monday afternoon injuring three people.
The Beech BE-76 aircraft crashed into a home at 925 NE 26 Avenue shortly after it departed from Pompano Beach Airpark at 3 p.m. Officials said it crashed into the home, bounced off it then landed in the neighboring backyard.
The family who lives inside the home where the plane crashed were not home at the time, according to neighbors.
While no one was injured on the ground, those on the plane, one woman and two men, were severely burned. One of them was reportedly ejected from the plane during the crash.
Rescue crews rushed them to the hospital as trauma alerts with third degree burns. One was airlifted to Broward Health North and the other two were taken by ground to Broward Heath Medical Center, said Sandra King with Pompano Beach Fire Rescue. At last check, they were all in critical condition.
Chopper4 was over the scene where a plane that looked like it had been on fire lay in the backyard of a home in pieces.
Someone could be seen spraying water on the wreckage where small plumes of smoke seemed to be coming out.
It is unclear what caused the crash but King said they may have had an engine problem.
Larry Ferris said he was washing his car along Harbour Drive in Pompano Beach Monday afternoon when he heard a plane sputtering.
"It sputtered again, backfired and then I seen it take a nose dive into the back houses there and blow up," Ferris told reporters. "It was a huge fireball."
Ferris ran to help and saw two people burning.
"We saw the pilot and copilot standing there so we grabbed them and dragged them to the street," he said.
Ferris had a different thought of what he would find.
"I thought I was gonna see dead people in the back yard," he said.
Ferris said that he didn't think about his safety, only about helping those injured.
"People in trouble," he said. "I would hope they would do the same thing for me."
Neighbor Jennifer Benson watched in horror as she realized something was very wrong before the crash.
"Right over the trees this plane is coming in and touching the top of the trees and I said oh my God that plane is too low," said Benson.
At the same time Michelle Miller noticed trouble in the air.
"It just was in trouble, sputtered and came straight down," said Miller.
"Did you hear it sputtering," asked CBS4's Ted Scouten.
"I did, after that it was just a huge explosion," said Miller.
Benson's Husband Rick raced to the rescue once the crash happened.
"They were getting out and I was just holding the back of the tale of the plane so it wouldn't roll over," said Rick Benson.
As the victims crawled from plane, it was evident they were seriously burned.
According to the FAA, the plane is registered out of Wyoming.
Neighbor Geremy Algarin raced outside when he heard the impact.
"The guy's house is freaking billowing smoke everywhere. It was crazy and then I ran over to this side of the house where the people were but they had already pulled out the pilots by then, " Algarin told CBS4's Carey Codd. "The lady was sitting up. The two other gentlemen were sitting down, his face was all beat up. The other guy's skin was kind of burnt. It didn't look too good."
Following the crash, locals near the area of the crash took to social media to post the aftermath.