Harrowing video has emerged of the jet that crashed Friday afternoon showing passengers’ excitement turning to terror and offering a rare glimpse into the flight’s final moments.
The crash claimed the lives of two people after it landed on Interstate 75 in Collier County 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 survivors of the crash were reportedly transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of their injuries. Their conditions are unknown at this time.
Kyle Cavaliere was driving in a vehicle when he saw the jet crash along I-75.
“It landed on a car too,” said Cavaliere before arriving at the scene.
Additional video shows Cavaliere running over to the fiery wreckage asking one survivor, “Is there anybody else in there?”
“Yes. I don’t know much else,” a woman responded.
“Are they alive?” asked Cavaliere before the video ended.
Authorities said 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.
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.