LABELLE, Fla. (WSVN) — Newly released surveillance video captured the heart-stopping moment a plane swooped dangerously close to homes in a Southwest Florida community before it hit the ground, killing the pilot and leaving residents shaken.
Footage from the May 6 crash showed the aircraft as it flew right over homes in LaBelle before it crashed nearby. The camera captured audio of the impact seconds later.
Area resident Colton Summerlin said he was at work when the plane went down.
“I didn’t realize until we looked back at the footage that it flew over, right over our house,” he said.
Summerlin said he’s thankful his family was not hurt.
“It could have been our house if it was 30 seconds sooner, you know, and I got a lot of kids,” he said.
Neighbors who viewed the footage said they didn’t realize just how close the plane came to crashing in their community.
“Wow, that’s terrible. Oh, my God,” said Carlos Rivera.
Resident Cassie Lott gasped when she heard audio of the crash.
“So, that was the sound I heard. We heard it from here inside the house,” she said.
According to a report, a woman saw the plane flying low, just above the trees. She said the plane wasn’t making any noise, and it appeared as though the propellers weren’t moving.
On top of that, the woman said, the landing gear was down.
“I’m so sorry for what happened to the person. Someone lost their life,” said Lott. “I mean, I’m thankful it didn’t fall on our homes, but that’s scary.”
Neighbors have been left with an uneasy feeling after watching the video. They described the sound of the crash as chilling,
“That was really close to the ground, what I just saw on there,” said resident Terrie Pearce.
Even though the pilot did not survive, a passenger on board did.
Investigators are working to determine what led to the crash.
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