As of 7 p.m. Sunday, Interstate 75 southbound is now open through Naples, two days after a small passenger jet crash-landed on the road, hitting cars, slamming into the retaining wall alongside the highway, and catching fire, Florida Highway Patrol said.
Earlier Sunday the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, announced that it planned to move the downed Bomobadier Challenger 600-series jet to an “undisclosed secure facility in Jacksonville.”
The agency said it would also send the black box, also known as the flight data recorder, and cockpit voice recorder to agency headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Florida Highway Patrol’s Lt. Gregory Bueno noted that debris was still being cleared off the road Sunday, but had estimated the highway would be open by the end of day.
Two died in the crash; the other three onboard survived. All automobile drivers and passengers caught in the crash survived, as well.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office identified the dead as pilot Edward Daniel Murphy, 50, of Oakland Park, Fla., and Ian Fredrick Hoffman, 65, of Pompano Beach, Fla.