Days after a small plane crashed in a Pembroke Pines suburb, we are hearing the calls for help as panicked neighbors raced to save those inside.
Pembroke Pines Police said the plane came crashing down on the 6800 block of Southwest 14th Street, Sunday evening, as it tried to land at North Perry Airport.
“911, what’s the address of your emergency?” an operator says.
“Plane just came down on our street,” said a caller.
“They are already on their way. Is someone stuck on the plane?” said the operator.
“Yeah. Hurry up please,” said the caller.
The calls came from nervous callers who witnessed the crash. Immediately following the crash, neighbors grabbed anything they could and raced to help save the family of four.
“One grabbed an ax, one grabbed a fire extinguisher, one grabbed a hose. My father-in-law started recovering and giving care to the individuals on the plane,” said an area resident.
Over the phone, bystanders can be heard trying to free those onboard.
“Oh my God! They’re trying to get him out of the plane,” said a caller.
“Let me know when everyone’s out of the plane,” said the operator.
“There is two more people,” said another caller.
“You got a hose?” yelled another bystander.
Witness Eddy Crisbin said one passenger appeared to have been more seriously hurt.
“The mother suffered the most injuries; she was covered in blood and, you know, it was very traumatic,” he said.
Investigators said two adults and two minors were on board. According to police, the pilot is 58-year-old Carlos Balza.
The family of four have since been released from the hospital.
But this isn’t the first crash in this neighborhood near North Perry Airport. Records show four plane accidents in 2020 alone in the area.
A year later, in 2021, a plane crashed into a car near Southwest 72nd Avenue and 13th Street, killing both people on the aircraft and a 4-year-old boy who was in the back seat of the car.
That boy’s mother, Megan Bishop, told Inside Edition that her life was changed forever and is demanding change, especially after hearing about this latest crash.
“When you’re a mom and you lose your child, you lose yourself,” she said. “My whole body just shuts down. It’s crazy. All I did was just cry because I don’t want any parent to experience what I went through, but unless there is change another parent will go through what I went through.”
Pembroke Pines Commissioner Tom Good said that despite bystanders’ heroism, the city wants to reduce the risk of accidents like this.
“We are blessed that we had some very brave residents that came out,” he said. “(But) this is a serious issue. This isn’t statistics, this is real people, real lives. And it shouldn’t be something that has to come from the Federal Aviation Administration. I think it is something that can come from the Broward Aviation.”
Good told 7News he agrees with the mayor’s idea which increases safety while reducing risk for the people who live around the airport. Some ideas being floated include increased plane inspections and personnel.
On Tuesday, the shattered plane was towed away.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
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