OPA-LOCKA, Fla. – A dog that was injured in a small plane crash Tuesday morning has been released from an animal hospital.
The pilot and two passengers who were on board the single-engine Cherokee PA-28 remain at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Miami-Dade Aviation Department spokesman Greg Chin said the plane departed from Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport at 10:35 a.m., but soon afterward had to land in a nearby body of water.
A view from Sky 10 showed that the plane was upside down on its roof next to the water near the airport.
Two men and a woman were airlifted to the hospital.
The pilot, James Webster, suffered a broken clavicle and nose. The passengers, a couple in their 70s, also suffered broken bones. Webster and Otto Wild remained in fair condition on Wednesday.
"I want to thank Opa-locka police, (Miami-Dade) County Fire Rescue, Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson (Memorial Hospital) and all the people that came out of the warehouses and helped us get away from the plane that could have exploded," Wild said in a statement Wednesday. "I especially want to thank the fireman who promised to take care of Sugar."
The woman's identity has not been released.
Dr. Russell Bishop of Broward Animal Hospital said the dog, a 9-year-old German Shepard-golden retriever mix named Sugar, suffered small cuts and a broken carpal bone.
Witnesses told Local 10 News that they saw the plane smoking or on fire before it crashed.
"It was on fire in the air and then it crashed down," witness Kimberly Green said. "Once it hit, the smoke stopped and then the guy with the gray shirt -- he ran to try to get the two other guys out, and then you see the dog run out of the plane … he couldn't get the lady out."
A few men also witnessed the crash and rushed to help. Jose Batres, who works at a nearby warehouse, told Local 10 News that the woman appeared to suffer the most significant injuries.
"The husband pulled her from the leg and we go outside and take from the back and put (her) in the grass," he said.
Authorities said they saw signs of a small fire at the front of the aircraft upon arrival, but firefighters did not have to extinguish any flames.
The group was on their way to Bimini, where the couple and the pilot both have homes.
The plane is being towed to Fort Pierce, where the cause of the crash will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
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