CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — A pilot flying over the Clearwater area witnessed a plane crash that left three dead Thursday.
A pilot reported engine failure before crashing into the Bayside Waters mobile home park around 7 p.m. Thursday.
“They went down hard. They’re in flames,” a pilot flying over the area said during a Live Air Traffic Control recording. “It looks like there is a structure fire down there. It looks like he went into a building.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft involved in the crash was a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35. According to the FAA, the pilot and two people on the ground were killed.
3 dead after plane crashes in Clearwater mobile home park, FAA says
“I just saw him going down at an extremely high rate of speed. Did not see any flames, just saw the flight going down,” the pilot said. “There’s still active flames down there and a lot of smoke coming from it. He is definitely into a house. The whole house is demolished.”
Clearwater Fire Chief Scott Ehler said the plane hit one mobile home. Four other homes caught fire due to the crash.