3 Injured As Small Plane Crashes in Pompano Beach Neighborhood

Three people were critically injured when the small plane they were riding in crashed into a Pompano Beach, Florida, neighborhood Monday afternoon.

Smoke was seen for miles rising from the scene in the 900 block of Harbour Drive, where the plane went down next to several houses.

Pompano Beach Fire Rescue officials said the woman and two men on board the plane were taken to nearby hospitals in critical condition.
All three suffered severe injuries with burns on 30-40 percent of their bodies, officials said. Their identities haven't been released.

Two of the victims were taken to the extensive burn center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The other was taken to Broward Health North.
Florida Aviation Academy owner John Fitzgerald confirmed that the company owns the plane. He said they are praying for those who were on board.

The plane clipped at least one home but there were no injuries in the house, fire rescue officials said.
"I heard this enormous crash or explosion. I went outside, saw black smoke going up in the air, I went through the neighbor's backyard and took a picture of the flames coming out of the house," neighbor Ted Alflen said.

FAA officials said the Beech BE-76 aircraft crashed shortly after departing from Pompano Beach Airpark around 3 p.m.
The pilot had been practicing takeoffs and landings when the crash happened, FAA officials said.

Footage showed the wreckage of the plane just steps from nearby homes. Firefighters were seen spraying water on the homes.
Fire rescue officials said one house had significant damage and two others were hit by debris.

When fire rescue arrived, two of the victims had been pulled out of the plane by nearby residents.
Larry Ferris said he saw the plane land in the backyard and explode. He ran to the scene with another neighbor to help.

"We both ran over there, kicked the gate down and went in the backyard and to our surprise the co-pilot and pilot were standing right there," he said. "We dragged them to the street."
Other neighbors said the victims were in bad shape, especially the female passenger.

"They were laying down, you could tell they were burned, you could see the burns on them and them peeling and their pants were tattered," Dorine Wollangk said. "She was in shock, she didn't say anything, we just told her to sit down."
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

(culled from nbcmiami.com)