NAPLES, Fla. (WSVN) —New video of a deadly Naples plane crash has been released, as well as more stories of survival after the plane plunged.
A former paramedic is speaking out on how she helped the remaining passengers on board get to safety.
With her hand placed protectively on one of their backs, the former paramedic led three plane crash survivors to safety in Naples on Friday.
A deputy captured the heroic moment.
She saw the smoke on her drive to work and started recording. Then she dropped her phone and ran in to help.
“Once I did realize that a plane had crashed, and there were survivors from this plane crash, I knew quickly that I needed to get the survivors away from the plane, because the jet fuel was going to explode,” Sheri Rapisarda said.
The former paramedic doesn’t want to be called a hero, but we know the explosion happened just seconds after she ushered them away.
With her cellphone still rolling, she caught the two surviving passengers and a flight attendant’s conversation once safely in her car.
The two pilots lost their lives, but saved countless others.
Both engines went out and they landed with no bystander lives lost.
This all happened on the side of Interstate 75 during rush hour and in between two massive neighborhoods.
Fellow pilots, neighbors and aviation experts call the two heroes.
“Very, very fortunate, especially for that pilot who really did everything he could to save lives on the ground,” Javed Kapadia said.
“They landed on 75,obviously, which in and of itself is a great choice by the pilots. What else do you do?” said a neigbor. “You think of the folks on the ground first and foremost as a pilot.”
Friends, family and fellow pilots now remember them on social media.
“Fair skies and tailwinds Captain Ian Hoffman,” said one former co-worker at Virgin Airlines.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane hit two cars on the interstate. Between the two vehicles, only one person suffered injuries.
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