MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - Two women have been transported to the hospital after a small plane plunged into the streets of Miramar.
The crash happened on a sidewalk of a shopping plaza near Palm Avenue and Miramar Parkway, Monday night.
According to flight records, the plane, identified as a Cessna Skyhawk, took off from Naples just before 9:30 p.m. and was last seen near Hollywood at around 10:40 p.m.
“Never in my life,” said Champ Pierre, who works nearby. “That’s the first time. That’s why I’m shocked — never seen anything like that. Glad they have life, and I hope this doesn’t happen again.”
The distress call was made at around 11 p.m.
“Two-fourteen stress signal from an aircraft,” the dispatcher said. “They believe the aircraft is on the ground, possibly 3.6 miles north of Opa-Locka Airport. It’s showing that it’s on the ground. They’re still unable to make any contact with anyone on board.”
“I couldn’t believe it, man. First thing I did was call 911,” said witness Kareem Rampie. “The whole thing just cut in half instantly. It was very crazy to watch, very crazy.”
Fire rescue crews responded to the scene where they rushed both occupants of the plane to Memorial Regional Hospital.
The two occupants have been identified as Gopika Sreekumar, 23, and 36-year-old flight instructor Urmila Ravi Shankar. Their conditions remain unknown, but Shankar’s employer said she suffered multiple fractures.
“I kept watching it, watching it,” Rampie said. “I’m like, ‘Maybe it’s going to level back up.’ It skidded, and it hit off this cinder block right here, and it spun to the right. I hope those people are OK, and everything is well because that was a very tragic thing to watch.”
Officials shut down the area surrounding the crash while they cleared the scene.
Crews have since cut the plane into multiple pieces to load it onto the back of a flatbed tow truck. The wreckage has been cleared.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
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