The pilot of a plane that crashed onto a Florida interstate, killing two people Friday, told air traffic control that he had “lost both engines” and that the Bombardier Challenger 600 business jet wasn’t going to make it to the airport moments before it slammed into the roadway, clipping a vehicle and crashing into a wall, newly released audio reveals.
“Challenger Hop-A-Jet 823, lost both engines, emergency, I’m making an emergency landing,” the pilot calmly radios to air traffic control at Naples Airport on Friday afternoon in the audio.
An air traffic controller responds that the pilot is cleared to land.
“We’re cleared to land, but we’re not going to make the runway. We’ve lost both engines,” the pilot says right before the plane crashed onto Interstate 75 in Naples, and burst into flames.
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The crash left the pilot and co-pilot dead, while three others on board survived. No one on the ground was killed.
The pilot has been tentatively identified as Edward Daniel Murphy, 50, of Oakland Park, Florida; and co-pilot Ian Frederick Hofmann, 65, of Pompano Beach, Florida, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook Saturday.
One crew member, Sydney Ann Bosmans, 23, of Jupiter, Florida, survived along with passengers Aaron Baker, 35, and Audra Green, 23, who live in Columbus, Ohio.
The survivors were taken to the hospital after the crash. Their conditions are unknown.
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The Bombardier Challenger 600 business jet had left a Columbus, Ohio, airport earlier in the afternoon bound for Naples Airport, and was just a few miles away when it crashed.
Traffic was backed up for hours after the incident in which the plane crashed into two vehicles and the smoke could be seen for miles.
“Our hearts are heavy and our thoughts are with those impacted by Friday’s tragic events,” Naples Airport said in a statement.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
