Plane Carrying Relief Supplies to Jamaica Crashes into Coral Springs, FL, Lake
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Two people are dead after a small plane that was bound for Jamaica for Hurricane Melissa relief efforts crashed into a lake behind a home in a Coral Springs gated community on Monday morning, officials said.
The 1976 Beech B100 aircraft, an 11-seat, multi-engine plane, took off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport shortly after 10 a.m. and was scheduled to land at Montego Bay International Airport shortly after 12:30 p.m., according to FlightAware.
The flight was for “relief efforts,” City of Fort Lauderdale spokesperson Belal Jaber said in an email.
Coral Springs Police announced the two deaths in a statement about 4 p.m. The statement did not provide further information about the deaths, who was on the plane or details of the nature of the flight.
“There will be a significant police presence in the area of Windsor Bay throughout the remainder of the day and tomorrow as investigators work to collect evidence,” the statement said.
A fire official told The Associated Press no victims were located during rescue efforts and said the search had become a recovery operation.
Emergency crews were called to the 5000 block of Northwest 57th Way, where witnesses told dispatchers of a small plane flying dangerously low.
Mike Moser, deputy chief of Coral Springs Fire Rescue, said an initial 911 call came in at 10:19 a.m. about a plane that crashed into a lake in the Windsor Bay neighborhood along Creekside Drive. It did not hit any homes, he said.
The entire plane had yet to be found Monday afternoon.
“There was no actual plane to be seen,” Moser told the Associated Press. “They followed the debris trail to the water. We had divers that entered the water and tried to search for any victims and didn’t find any.”
Moser said a big field of debris was cast around the neighborhood and said any residents who find pieces of debris should contact the Coral Springs Police Department.
Initial aerial photos showed a damaged fence behind a home and a small oil slick on the lake.
Kenneth DeTrolio and his wife were inside their home when the plane crashed through their backyard before hitting the water, destroying his fence and ripping down multiple palm trees, he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The impact left his yard scattered with debris and his pool and back porch “contaminated” with fuel. The fuel smell was so strong inside his home that it took a few hours to dissipate, he said.
“We heard the strangest sound. I never heard anything like it before, and apparently that was when this plane must have flown between my home and my neighbor’s house,” he said.
Coral Springs Police in its statement warned residents of the fuel smell.
“While the majority of these fumes have evaporated, it may take time for the remainder to dissipate,” the statement said. “The city strongly recommends residents in the area to avoid being outdoors and keep doors closed for the remainder of the night.”
Michael Barish, who lives across the water from DeTrolio, was in the front of his house when the plane crashed. Their backyard is covered with police markers, identifying spots where different pieces of debris landed, he said. As of late Monday afternoon, he said he had not seen any large pieces of the plane be recovered from the water.
“I think everything disintegrated on impact,” he said.
The police department as of late Monday afternoon was working to reopen Creekside Drive but said roads inside the Windsor Bay neighborhood will remain closed until further notice.
Chris Howes, who lives in a home along Creekside Drive, said she heard what she thought sounded like “rapid acceleration” and then a boom.
“The noise just didn’t fit anything I’d heard before,” she said.
She thought perhaps it was a car crash or an accident with a landscaping crew. When she came out and saw the hordes of police and fire rescue crews as well as the helicopters, she knew it was something more.
Zane Smith, who lives in The Arbors community near Windsor Bay, heard a loud boom.
Smith said he and his business partner thought a bomb went off. His business partner’s glass fell as what felt like a shock wave reverberated through the home.
Local organizations as well as city and county governments in South Florida have been accepting donations and supplies since Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Oct. 28 for those affected.
The National Weather Service Miami said in an area forecast about 7 a.m. that gusty winds would start later in the morning and become “robust” in the afternoon.
The registered owner of the plane is listed as International Air Service Inc. Trustee, a company in Nevada, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. A representative of the company declined to speak with a reporter when reached by phone Monday afternoon.
Spokespersons for the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board did not respond to emails seeking information.
_____
©2025 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Visit sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.