Jet Crashes on Florida Highway 2 dead

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Federal authorities have launched an investigation to determine why a private jet tried to make an emergency landing on a Florida interstate, colliding with a vehicle and bringing traffic to a halt as a massive plume of black smoke rose into the air.

Two people died.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Bombardier Challenger 600 jet had five people aboard when the crash happened around 3:15 p.m. near Naples, just north of where Interstate 75 heads east toward Fort Lauderdale along what is known as Alligator Alley.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, with the NTSB leading the investigation. One NTSB investigator arrived at the crash site Friday afternoon, with several more expected to arrive on Saturday.

Brianna Walker saw the wing of the plane drag the car in front of hers and slam into the wall.

“It’s seconds that separated us from the car in front of us,” she said. “The wing pulverized this one car.”

Walker and her friend spotted the plane moments before it hit the highway, allowing her friend to pull over before the crash.

“The plane was over our heads by inches,” she said. “It took a hard right and skid across the highway.”

Walker said an explosion of flames then burst from the plane with a loud boom. Pieces of the plane littered the highway.

The plane had taken off from an airport at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, about 1 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Naples around the time of the crash, Naples Airport Authority spokesperson Robin King said. A pilot had contacted the tower requesting an emergency landing, saying they had lost both engines.

The pilot was cleared to land on a runway but replied, “We’re not going to make the runway. We’ve lost both engines,” according to a tape of the call cited by the Naples Daily News.

The tower lost contact, and then airport workers saw the smoke from the interstate just a few miles away, King said.

King said they sent fire trucks with special foam to the scene, and three of the five people on board were taken from the wreckage alive.

Collier County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Adam Fisher confirmed two deaths but said he didn’t yet know whether the victims had been passengers on the plane or were on the ground.