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BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Three people were killed and one was injured when a small plane crashed Friday morning in South Florida near a major interstate highway and pushed a car onto railroad tracks, officials said.
Boca Raton Fire Rescue assistant chief Michael LaSalle said the plane crash that killed all three people on board emitted a fireball when it hit the ground, injuring a person in a nearby car. LaSalle said several roads near the Boca Raton Airport will remain closed near Interstate 95.
The Federal Aviation Administration identified the plane as a Cessna 310 with three people on board. It went down about 10:20 a.m. after departing from Boca Raton Airport bound for Tallahassee, the FAA said in an email.
Fire officials told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the aircraft appeared to have pushed a car onto the railroad tracks, leading to the tracks' closure.
Josh Orsino, 31, said he was stopped at a red light at a nearby overpass when he heard a loud explosion and saw a huge fireball come toward him.
“We’re just sitting there, and I see the palm trees start catching on fire,” Orsino said. “I thought it was an oil rig or a car crash type thing.”
Orsino said everyone was honking and trying to get off the overpass, not sure if it was going to collapse.
“So I didn’t know if the fire was going to come towards the vehicles, I mean, my first instinct was like, I got to get off this bridge. I’m getting out of here,” Orsino said.
Miguel Coka, 51, who works near the Boca Raton airport, said he is used to seeing planes flying low as they prepare to land. But this time, he and his colleagues noticed something was off.
“There was a rumble and everyone in the building felt it,” he said when the plane crashed. “We are all shocked.”
He captured the smoke and flames from the crash from his office balcony on video.
Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer said the investigation was just beginning.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm that a plane crash occurred earlier today within our community. At this time, details are still emerging, and we are working closely with emergency responders and authorities," Singer said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic event. We ask for patience and respect for the families involved as investigations continue.”
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, with the NTSB leading the probe.
NTSB officials arrived at the scene Friday afternoon and began collecting evidence and taking photos as part of their preliminary investigation. The plane wreckage will be taken to a salvage facility in Jacksonville for further investigation. The NTSB will release a preliminary report in 30 days, followed by a final report with the likely cause of the crash in 12 to 24 months.
The small plane crashed in South Florida a day after a New York City sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River, killing the pilot and a family of five Spanish tourists.
Federal officials have tried to reassure travelers that flying is the safest mode of transportation, and statistics support that. But aircraft collisions and near-misses have been drawing more scrutiny.
A midair collision killed 67 people near Washington in January. An airliner clipped another in February while taxiing at the Seattle airport. In March, an American Airlines plane caught fire after landing in Denver, sending 12 people to the hospital.
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Associated Press producer Beatrice Dupuy contributed to this report from New York.
