At least one person was killed when a small plane crashed Tuesday morning in Miramar a few miles from North Perry Airport.
The crash involved an “advanced student and a senior instructor” at Wayman Aviation Academy, an academy spokesman confirmed. The pair were conducting a training flight and had just departed from North Perry Airport, where the aviation academy is based.
Information about the person who died or the other person’s condition was not immediately available.
Based on the preliminary investigation, the “pilot told air traffic controllers that he was attempting to return to the airport when the aircraft went down,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Helicopter video taken by Total Traffic Miami shows the charred and broken Piper PA-34 upside down next to a Chase bank in a shopping plaza in the area of Pembroke Road and Hiatus Road. In addition to the bank, a Publix, 7-Eleven and doctors’ offices are in the center.
Firefighters sprayed the area around the plane, trying to extinguish the flames as smoke filled the air. Other video of the scene shows firefighters covering an area of the crashed plane with a yellow tarp. The plane has a large “W” printed on one of its wings.
Pembroke Pines and Miramar police are on the scene and have shut down roads in the area. Drivers are being asked to find alternate routes.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it will be investigating the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board will later determine the probable cause of the accident.
This report will be updated as more information becomes available.
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