Tampa Bay Times
(TNS)
CLEARWATER — Three people were killed Thursday when a small plane crashed into a Clearwater mobile home park Thursday evening, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The crash happened shortly after 7 p.m. when the plane went down in the Bayside Waters mobile home park. Formerly known as Japanese Gardens Mobile Home Park, the park is located at 19709 U.S. Highway 19 North, south of the Clearwater Mall.
According to preliminary information released by the FAA, the pilot of the Beechcraft Bonanza V35 and two people on the ground were killed. Only the pilot was aboard the plane.
The pilot reported engine failure before the crash, the FAA said.
At 7:08 p.m., a structure fire was reported at Bayside Waters mobile home park, Clearwater Fire Chief Scott Ehlers said during a news conference Thursday.
“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 3 miles north of the runway, Ehlers said.
When firefighters arrived at 7:15, 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 was found predominantly in one home, and 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, Ehlers said.
The main home struck by the plane was a double-wide at 2647 Pagoda Drive, Mary Fagan, 63, told the Tampa Bay Times on Thursday.
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 neighbors 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 smoldering rubble.
Fagan said she believes some people were staying in the home, but as of 10 p.m., 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.
Check here for live updates throughout the day Friday.
10:40 a.m. Resident recalls neighbor fighting fire with garden hose
Rachelle Roach, 63, was standing in her carport outside her home on Teakwood Drive when the plane went down.
”I heard a hissing sound and then I look up in the sky and it was dark and then I see this plane with the lights on and everything,” she said. “Just seconds later I look over and it hit. It went straight down.”
Roach said she started to pray that the plane would land in a nearby vacant lot. But it didn’t.
”As soon as it hit, it just exploded,” she said. “And then the flames went up.”
The crash sparked a fire at the home of Roach’s neighbor, James Jenkins, who lives a couple lots over from the home the plane hit directly. She said she saw Jenkins trying to put out the blaze with his garden hose last night. He didn’t have a jacket on and was shivering, Roach said. She said neighbors were calling out to Jenkins from across the street, telling him to get away from his burning home and to safety when firefighters showed up to help.
Friday morning, she walked over to try to check on Jenkins but was turned away by police, so she called him.
”How are you doing?” she asked into her cell phone. “If you need anything, let us know.”
10:30 a.m. NTSB arrives at crash site, seeks witness accounts and video
An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board was at crash site Friday morning, documenting the scene and examining the aircraft, according to an agency spokesperson.
The agency is the lead investigating body on civil airplane crashes, and it typically looks at three primary factors: The pilot, the plane and the environment. Investigators will collect records, conduct a 72-hour background check of the pilot and their flight history, weather forecasts and conditions, maintenance records and other documents that could help shed light on what happened.
After an on-scene investigation, the agency will transport the wreckage to another facility for closer inspection. A preliminary report on the crash will be released within 30 days. The final report may take one or two years.
The agency is asking witnesses to the crash, or anyone who has surveillance video that could be relevant, to reach out at [email protected].
— Jay Cridlin, Times staff writer
10:25 a.m. Popping sounds, then an explosion
Maris Avery was playing cards with her son Thursday evening when they heard a series of popping sounds overhead before the explosive crash across the street. The impact shook their trailer, Avery said, and by the time they ran outside the neighbor’s trailer was already engulfed in flames.
Even from 100 feet away the heat was unbearable, she said.
Fire rescue arrived within 10 minutes, Avery said, and appeared to have the flames under control within half an hour. Details are still foggy in Avery’s mind the Friday morning.
”I was focusing on the fire and how horrendous it was,” she said. “(The response) seemed like it took forever, when you’re watching someone’s house burn, but it wasn’t very long.”
— Ian Hodgson, Times staff writer
9:55 a.m. ‘A huge fireball’
David McAnally, 65, had just finished eating dinner and turned on the evening news when he heard a loud, sputtering engine coming from above.
He turned to his wife and told her something was wrong with the sound of the plane they were hearing overhead.
Moments later they heard the crash.
”It was a big, huge fireball,” said McAnally said, who has lived in the park for about eight years.
Friday morning, he said residents are still in shock.
”You hear people talk about, ‘Well, unless a plane falls out of the sky and on my head,’” he said. “Well, that just happened.”
About 9 a.m. Friday, Clearwater police taped the scene off outside McAnally’s home on Nagano Drive. He stood outside in sweatpants watching neighbors who came to gawk at the scene before being turned away by officers.
One driver ran over the large water hose that ran from a fire hydrant to a firetruck down the street.
”Did I hit something?” he asked McAnally.
A Clearwater officer flashed his lights and came over to reprimand the man.
Mike Davis, 66, said he had done his best to steer clear of where the plane landed since the night before.
”I have no desire to see it,” he said. “There’s enough pictures on the news.”
Davis said he was surprised by how quickly first responders arrived at the scene and that the damage was contained to a few houses.
”Thank God,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse.”
— Jack Prator, Times staff writer
8:55 a.m. Drone images show devastation
Drone video and still images captured by Tampa Bay Times journalist Dirk Shadd Friday morning showed the devastation left in the wake of the crash on Pagoda Drive.
For more photos and video, click here.
8:30 a.m. FAA releases statement
The FAA released the following statement on the crash:
A single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35 crashed into a residential area in Clearwater, Florida around 7 p.m. local time on Thursday, Feb. 1, after the pilot reported an engine failure. Only the pilot was on board.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board ( NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide any updates.
8:15 a.m. Video shows immediate aftermath of crash
Tampa Bay Times news partner Spectrum Bay News 9 obtained video from Rick Renner that showed the immediate aftermath of the crash from a vantage point just across the street.
©2024 Tampa Bay Times. Visit tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
