FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - New video of a fiery plane crash that killed two people in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday has been released.
Investigators are searching for answers days after the plane crashed in a Fort Lauderdale warehouse, killing the pilot and passenger in the process.
Taken by surveillance cameras from a nearby business, the video shows the plane skidding across the parking lot and slamming into the building, causing a small explosion.
Officials said the pilot and passenger used a radio to speak with the tower, notifying them that they lost the left engine.
“Part of the left wing, we believe, impacted the edge of a roof,” said National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Tim Monville. “The airplane then impacted the ground on the left wing first and then slid into the building, and then there was a post-crash fire.”
Family members identified the pilot as 51-year-old Eladio Marquez. According to his wife, Marquez loved to fly and was a flight instructor for over 10 years.
The plane had just taken off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at around 1:30 p.m. Saturday and was headed to Jacksonville before it crashed into the warehouse near 62nd Street and West Cypress Creek Road.
The building is home to several businesses, including the Positive Behavior Supports Corporation, a therapy facility for children on the autism spectrum. Eight staff workers and six children were inside at the time.
No one on the ground was injured.
“We are very, very blessed that the staff reacted with the protocol safety, and they were able to get everybody, including themselves, to safety,” said Positive Behavior Supports Corporation spokesperson Claudia Axelrod.
Witnesses said they could not believe what happened.
“Kind of went right by me,” said witness Gerald Houle. “It was really low going down and angled toward the ground.”
Witness Edgar Allen said he felt the tremors from the crash.
“I just heard a big explosion, and then the building started shaking, and the roof started caving in,” he said. “I just ran out of the office and came inside.”
The conversation between the pilot and air traffic control was released on Monday.
Pilot: “Ground, we got a fire left engine, turning right back.”
Tower, controller 1: “Roger. Runway … actually clear to land any runway.”
Tower, controller 2: “We just had an aircraft crash.”
The investigation into what led to the crash continues.
“One occupant advised the tower that he had a fire in the left engine,” Monville said. “The controller cleared the pilot to land at any runway.”
It will take some time to get the wreckage properly removed.
Officials are expected to be on scene for several days. They said the investigation could take weeks.
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