HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Newly-released police body camera video showed the moments after a small banner plane crashed outside of a busy Hollywood shopping center Wednesday.
The plane burst into flames, which are seen in the body camera footage as officers try to shoo away stunned bystanders, after crashing on North Park Road. The pilot didn’t survive.
Hollywood police identified him as 28-year-old Mitchell Knaus Thursday afternoon.
Witnesses said the pilot never came out of the single-engine Piper PA-25-235 after the fiery crash at about 12:45 p.m. in Hollywood.
Police released audio from 911 calls following the incident Thursday.
Knaus departed at about 12:25 p.m., from North Perry Airport, in Pembroke Pines, according to the FlightAware database, which also reports the plane with tail N430AB is owned by Aerial Banners.
Authorities with the National Transportation Safety Board said Knaus had 325 hours of total flight experience and less than 20 hours of experience flying the banner plane that crashed.
The plane was operated by Aerial Banners Inc. A representative for the company said it could not comment when Local 10 News visited North Perry Airport Thursday.
Local 10 News has previously covered the company’s history of plane crashes in South Florida. In March 2019, another Aerial Banner pilot was killed when his plane slammed into a condo in Fort Lauderdale.
Officials are asking witnesses to send any video they may have of the crash to Witness@ntsb.gov.
They are still investigating what caused the crash.