CLEARWATER, Florida – A tragic incident occurred on Thursday as a small plane crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, claiming the lives of three individuals and engulfing multiple units in flames, as per the Clearwater Police Department.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that one crew member on the plane and two individuals on the ground lost their lives in the tragic crash. The incident prompted an immediate dispatch of emergency crews to the Bayside Waters community shortly after 7 p.m.
According to Clearwater Fire Chief Scott Ehlers, the pilot communicated an emergency to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport just before the plane disappeared from radar, approximately 3 miles north of a runway. The airport is located about 7 miles southeast of Clearwater.
The plane, identified as a single-piston Beechcraft 35 Bonanza, departed from Vero Beach Regional Airport around 6:08 p.m. and was scheduled to land at the small Clearwater Air Park, based on FlightAware data.
Eyewitnesses were shaken by the harrowing experience, with a 72-year-old man recounting how he was jolted awake by the deafening sound of the crash, leaving his mobile home in shambles and narrowly escaping death.
The devastating crash has left the community in mourning as officials work to investigate the cause of the tragedy and provide support to the affected families. The loss of lives and destruction caused by the crash serves as a sobering reminder of the potential dangers associated with air travel.