Pilot before fatal fiery crash on I-75 near Naples: ‘We are not going to make the runway’

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. – Two people died when a private plane crashed landed on Interstate 75 in Collier County on Friday afternoon and burst into flames, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

Five people were in The Bombardier Challenger 604 when it departed from Ohio State University’s airport in Columbus for Naples, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The pilot of the super-midsize jet was trying to land at the Naples airport when there was an emergency, according to a recording of his communication with an airport controller.

“Hop-A-Jet 823, lost both engines, emergency. I’m making an emergency landing. We’re clear to land but we’re not going to make the runway. We’ve lost both engines,” the pilot told the controller before the crash at about 3:15 p.m., on the southbound lanes of I-75.

The airport controller lost communication with the pilot, according to Robin King, of The Naples Airport Authority. The plane struck a vehicle near mile marker 107, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Brianna Walker told the Associated Press the wing of the jet dragged the car in front of hers.

“It’s seconds that separated us from the car in front of us. The wing pulverized this one car,” Walker said.

Witnesses reported there was a loud boom and plumes of black smoke near Pine Ridge Road.

“Traffic stopped ... coming southbound,” Attorney Garrett Elsinger said, adding a helicopter landed near the wreckage.

Gary Elsinger told Local 10 News that he was with his son when he watched the plane go down.

“It looked like it was broken in half from the impact, fully engulfed in flames, dark black smoke,” he said. “My son says, ‘Oh I just saw an explosion.’ I thought it was probably a car accident, as we got closer, we’re like, wait a minute is that a plane?”'

FHP closed I-75 in both directions from mile marker 105 to 111 and later reopened the northbound lanes. Many of the drivers were Fort Myers residents trying to get to work in Naples, a witness said.

The southbound lanes remained closed on Friday night. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the cause of the crash.

“It’s very rare for two engines to fail on any multi-engine aircraft,” Attorney John Galiano, a former U.S. Navy pilot, said after the crash adding that a flock of birds may have caused the crash.

Galiano also said a defect or maintenance problem was also a possibility. Helgi Bistochett, a pilot who flies a Challenger 605, said the plane’s wings are short and need both engines.

NTSB reported an investigator arrived at the site on Friday and several more were going to arrive on Saturday to “document the scene and examine the aircraft. The aircraft will then be recovered to a secure facility for further evaluation.”

The plane is registered to Fort Lauderdale-based East Shore Aviation LLC, according to the FAA. Fort Lauderdale-based Hop-a-Jet lists it as part of the charter company’s fleet.

Federal authorities said a preliminary report about the cause of the crash can be expected in 30 days.

Local 10 News reporter Trent Kelly contributed to this story.

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