Two dozen people called 911 after seeing a Cessna 310R crash and explode near Interstate 95 in a busy area of Boca Raton on Friday morning.
The plane experienced a mechanical issue shortly after taking off from the Boca airport just after 10 a.m., officials said. While trying to return to the airport, the plane crashed just short of where the pilot intended to land.
A teenage girl, her father and her grandfather were killed in the crash. They were identified by Boca Raton Police on Friday as Robert Stark, 81, of Boca Raton; Stephen Stark, 54, of Delray Beach; and Brooke Stark, 17, of Delray Beach.
Dispatchers were inundated with 911 calls from people who witnessed the crash, from someone who was in a building across the street to a woman from the Boca Raton Airport Authority to drivers on I-95, according to the calls obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel late Tuesday night. They received so many calls that dispatchers began answering with, “Are you calling about the plane crash?”
The woman who called from the airport authority said the plane was “in distress” and asked for fire rescue to respond. Air traffic control had already contacted police, the dispatcher replied.
“I know this is a really strange call,” another woman said. “But is anybody else calling about this plane flying very low?”
The operator said they were already aware.
“He’s way too low,” the woman said as the operator interrupted.
“Ma’am, they’re having issues. We’re aware,” the dispatcher said.
The dispatchers answering calls did not stay on the line long, briefly telling callers they were already on the way.
“Something just dropped from the sky and there’s a big accident,” a third woman said.
Another caller described seeing black smoke billowing into the sky just off the highway near Glades Road.
A 24-year-old man from Boca Raton had minor injuries after he lost control while driving a 2017 Toyota Prius near the fiery crash north on Military Trail and hit a tree, Boca Raton Police spokesperson Officer Jessica Desir said Friday.
The Starks were scheduled to land in Tallahassee on Friday afternoon, according to FlightAware. They were in the air for no longer than 10 minutes, National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge Kurt Gibson told reporters.
Both Robert Stark and Stephen Stark were certified pilots, Federal Aviation Administration records show. Officials have not said who was flying the plane.
Robert Stark had a long, illustrious history as an aerobatic competition pilot, competing in numerous contests, including for the U.S. advanced aerobatics team in an Advanced World Championship held in the Czech Republic in 1999.
WPEC-Ch. 12, the Sun Sentinel’s news partner, reported on Monday that Brooke Stark was a senior at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach.
“It’s just extra sad because she made it so far, and right when she’s about to make it to the finish line, things happen and it’s really unfortunate,” classmate Jason Timothee, who wore a blue jacket Monday in her memory, told Ch. 12.
Principal Sandra Edwards sent a message to parents after the crash but did not identify the student who died, citing the family’s privacy. Edwards said she would contact the family to offer them support.
“As parents and caregivers, you may find that your child is processing this loss in different ways,” Edwards wrote. “For some, this may be the first time they have experienced the death of a peer or someone in their community. I encourage all of us to approach conversations about this with care, compassion, and respect.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
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Source: American Military News