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Plane Crashes On Pompano Beach [Breaking News]

By Tylie Eaves
Published on: 07:57 PST, Apr 25, 2016

Just minutes ago (Monday, April 25), a small plane crashed on Pompano Beach, Florida, near Harbor Drive. Emergency responders are currently on the scene. It is believed that the fixed-wing multi-engine Beech 76 aircraft was carrying three people. Reports from CBS Miami have confirmed the plane was registered out of Wyoming. There is currently no information on casualties or the cause of the crash.

Choppers have recorded imagery of the wreckage in flames in the backyard of a home. Someone on the ground was spraying the wreckage with water, presumably until rescue authorities could assess the the scene. Plumes of smoke are currently rising from the crash site.

This is a breaking news update. We will continue to provide updates here as the story unfolds.

[UPDATE]

Three people were severely burned in yesterday’s plane crash on Pompano beach. This morning, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived on scene to take a closer look at the cause of the crash. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Senior Air Safety Investigator Leah Read gave reporters some insight as to what steps the organization will take as the investigation progresses.

It appears the crash, which resulted in the hospitalization of one woman and two men, took place during a training flight. It is not uncommon for flight students to practice take-offs and landings in a repetitious manner. Thankfully, the victims of the crash did survive and are expected to recover, despite suffering critical injuries and severe burns.

Witnesses on the ground spoke to reporters. Mason Pizzo, 23, stated, “Out of nowhere we could hear the sound of the plane coming down.” He went on to say that the specific sounds made it clear a crash was taking place.

“It seems like the whole neighborhood shook there for a minute,” stated Michele Miller, who was at a nearby dog park when the crash took place.

Gary Mitchell, 71, lives just across the street from the crash site, and reportedly saw a “fireball … maybe 100 feet in the air.”

Larry Ferris was washing his car, “I saw the plane blow up in the backyard,” he said. “I ran across the street and grabbed a garden hose.” Ferris stated that one of the badly burned victims could be heard saying, “please help me, I’m on fire.”

People in the area sprang quickly into action. Mason Pizzo called 9-1-1 and made a bee-line toward the crash site with a fire extinguisher, as he did so, he gave his phone to the resident whose house was clipped by the plane as it went down. Pizzo said two other citizens in wetsuits had already rescued two of the plane’s three occupants by the time he reached the cockpit.

“I’m amazed and happy that all the people came together as a neighborhood in a time of craziness like that,” he stated. “Now days, that’s hard to find.”

Investigators told reporters that the victims of the crash will be instrumental to the investigation. “It’s always wonderful when people survive any kind of accident and what’s going to be good about this is that three witnesses who were actually on board the plane – as their medical condition improves we plan to be interviewing them as well, ” she said.

The names and specific details of the crash have not yet been released. Read has confirmed that the preliminary findings of the investigation can be expected in approximately five days. However, a full-scale report containing the in-depth findings of the investigation, as well as more detailed facts concerning the accident, will not be available for six months.

[Photo by Adam Roper/Getty Images]

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