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9 February 2024
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Pilot and two people on the ground killed after small plane crashes into Clearwater mobile home park, US
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A small plane crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater in Florida in the US, on Thursday evening, 1 February 2024, setting multiple homes on fire and resulting in several fatalities. At 19h08, a structure fire was reported at Bayside Waters mobile home park, Clearwater Fire Chief Scott Ehlers said. “Simultaneously, there was a report of an aircraft having an emergency at the airport,” Ehlers said. The tower picked up mayday radio transmissions from the pilot of a small aircraft that went off the radar about three miles north of the runway, Chief Ehlers said.
When firefighters arrived at 19h15, they found four “heavily involved” mobile homes. Aircraft response vehicles arrived at the same time, which Ehlers said was a “critical component” in helping put out the flames.
The aircraft, a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35, was found predominantly in one home and Chief Ehlers confirmed “several fatalities” inside the aircraft and the mobile home. Authorities were working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board to identify the aircraft, its pilot and any passengers, Chief Ehlers said.
The FAA reported that the aircraft was a Beechcraft Bonanza V35 and the pilot had reported an engine failure.
At least nine people were inside the mobile home earlier Thursday night but only two remained at the time of the crash, the Clearwater Fire and Rescue Department said in its media release.
Bayside Waters, formerly known as Japanese Gardens Mobile Home Park, is located at 19709 US Highway 19 North, south of the Clearwater Mall.
The main home struck by the plane was a double-wide at 2647 Pagoda Drive, said Mary Fagan, age 63. It used to be her mother’s, Fagan said and now belongs to a sister who was looking to fly down from Illinois after the crash. Fagan said some neighbours called her Thursday evening and said: “Your mom’s mobile is on fire.” She rushed over from her place up the road and stood on the pavement, watching as the temperature dropped and firefighters sprayed the smouldering rubble.
Fagan said she believes some people were staying in the home but as of 22h00, she hadn’t been allowed closer than about 150 feet away and wasn’t sure whether anyone was inside at the time the plane went down. Neighbours huddled beside her, watching smoke rise from the pile as water pooled in the street.
One house down from the impact, Joe Miller was just starting to drift off when he heard an “unbelievable roar,” he said. The next moment he found himself thrown onto the floor, covered in insulation and glass. Wrapped in a blanket and still shaking with nerves hours after the explosion, Miller described his confused scramble through his torn-apart trailer, only to be greeted by leaping flame from what remained of the structure next door. Miller, age 72, has lived in the park for eight years and he said he’s not sure what to expect when the sun rises but worried that he wouldn’t be able to reach his medications. “The roofs blown off and I don’t know what’s left inside. I just know I’m lucky to be here,” he said.
Sources: Tampa Bay Times
When firefighters arrived at 19h15, they found four “heavily involved” mobile homes. Aircraft response vehicles arrived at the same time, which Ehlers said was a “critical component” in helping put out the flames.
The aircraft, a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35, was found predominantly in one home and Chief Ehlers confirmed “several fatalities” inside the aircraft and the mobile home. Authorities were working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board to identify the aircraft, its pilot and any passengers, Chief Ehlers said.
The FAA reported that the aircraft was a Beechcraft Bonanza V35 and the pilot had reported an engine failure.
At least nine people were inside the mobile home earlier Thursday night but only two remained at the time of the crash, the Clearwater Fire and Rescue Department said in its media release.
Bayside Waters, formerly known as Japanese Gardens Mobile Home Park, is located at 19709 US Highway 19 North, south of the Clearwater Mall.
The main home struck by the plane was a double-wide at 2647 Pagoda Drive, said Mary Fagan, age 63. It used to be her mother’s, Fagan said and now belongs to a sister who was looking to fly down from Illinois after the crash. Fagan said some neighbours called her Thursday evening and said: “Your mom’s mobile is on fire.” She rushed over from her place up the road and stood on the pavement, watching as the temperature dropped and firefighters sprayed the smouldering rubble.
Fagan said she believes some people were staying in the home but as of 22h00, she hadn’t been allowed closer than about 150 feet away and wasn’t sure whether anyone was inside at the time the plane went down. Neighbours huddled beside her, watching smoke rise from the pile as water pooled in the street.
One house down from the impact, Joe Miller was just starting to drift off when he heard an “unbelievable roar,” he said. The next moment he found himself thrown onto the floor, covered in insulation and glass. Wrapped in a blanket and still shaking with nerves hours after the explosion, Miller described his confused scramble through his torn-apart trailer, only to be greeted by leaping flame from what remained of the structure next door. Miller, age 72, has lived in the park for eight years and he said he’s not sure what to expect when the sun rises but worried that he wouldn’t be able to reach his medications. “The roofs blown off and I don’t know what’s left inside. I just know I’m lucky to be here,” he said.
Sources: Tampa Bay Times
