PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - The mayor of the City of Pembroke Pines is urging Broward County to investigate the repeated crashes around North Perry Airport, hours after two people were rescued after their small plane had to make an emergency landing by the Florida Everglades.
On Tuesday, Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire Rescue units responded to reports of a plane that took a nose dive west of Everglades Holiday Park.
FlightAware shows the plane took off from North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines in the morning, but flew for about 20 minutes before circling twice and coming down.
Luckily, the two people on board walked away unharmed.
Audio recorded from inside the plane captured the panicked moment as the pilot looked for a good place to land.
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday (unintelligible)… we are looking for the, uh, roads here,” said the pilot.
“There’s no airport near you but, it’s by the Everglades, can you, uh maybe find a dirt road?” said the tower operator.
“Yeah, I mean, I’m looking, I’m looking, I’m doing the best,” said the pilot.
Down below, Charter boat captain Bret Isackson watched it all play out, even snapping photos in the process.
“We were out fishing by the Miami canal and saw the plane start coming super low, but all you saw was it come down like it was landing but it came down nose first,” he said.
In the sky, a nearby pilot told tower operators what occurred.
“Looks like they just touched down on a dirt road, uh, we’ll keep an eye on them,” he said.
But the scene of downed planes have become an all too familiar scene for residents in the area near North Perry Airport.
Tuesday’s crash occurred about three weeks after another small plane crashed in a Pembroke Pines neighborhood, prompting nearby residents to help remove the family of four inside.
Records show four plane accidents in 2020 alone in the area.
The continued instances has prompted the city’s mayor, Angelo Castillo, to say enough is enough.
“We’ve had deaths, we’ve had serious injuries, we’ve had houses hit, enough is enough,” he said.
The City of Pembroke Pines has compiled a list of 42 incidents over five years from fatal crashes to mechanical mishaps.
7News has learned that on Wednesday, city commissioners will consider formally asking Broward County to look into the numbers and to take action.
“We are asking them to take safety seriously and stop making excuses,” said Castillo.
When asked by 7News if he wants North Perry Airport to close, Castillo said “I want safety at this airport.”
The mayor also pointed to the 2021 accident that killed 4-year-old Taylor Bishop, when a plane crashed into his mother’s car.
“We can’t have planes flying into trees, planes flying into cars, planes constantly ditching in the Everglades. Here in Pembroke Pines, we think it’s unsafe and they need to fix that,” said Castillo.
Federal investigators are looking into why this latest emergency landing in the Everglades took place.
During the Wednesday meeting scheduled for 6:30p.m., commissioners will also honor the neighbors who helped rescued the family of four in Pembroke Pines.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.