At least two people have died after a private jet attempted to make an emergency landing on a Florida interstate Friday afternoon and instead collided with a car and crashed.
“A Bombardier Challenger 600 jet crashed on Highway I-75 near Naples, Florida, around 3:15 p.m. local time Friday, Feb. 9,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. “Five people were on board.”
“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate,” the statement continued. “The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide any updates.”
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement posted to social media that at least two people were killed in the crash.
“The Federal Aviation Administration has closed a large section of Interstate 75 in Collier County to investigate the crash of an aircraft with two confirmed fatalities,” the statement said. “Southbound traffic is closed at the 111 Mile Marker (Immokalee Road) and northbound traffic is closed at the 105 Mile Marker (Golden Gate Parkway). The closure is expected to last for an extended period of time.”
The sheriff’s office urged people to find alternate routes and avoid the area.
CNN reported that tracking data showed that the plane took off from Ohio State University Airport early Friday afternoon and was headed toward Naples Airport when it crashed.
The report added that shortly before the plane crashed, a pilot radioed air traffic control to report that the plane had suffered a catastrophic event.
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“Lost both engines. Emergency,” the pilot said. “Make an emergency landing.”
The plane was close enough to the airport that an air traffic controller cleared the plane to land.
“Cleared to land, but we’re not going make the runway,” the pilot responded.
Robin King, the director of communication with the Naples Airport Authority, said: “It was coming in for a landing. We received word that it had possibly lost an engine, we have not confirmed that. Then we lost contact.”
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