A small plane en route to Jamaica with relief supplies following Hurricane Melissa crashed in a residential neighborhood in Coral Springs, Florida, on Monday morning. No injuries were reported on the ground, and a search for potential victims aboard the aircraft proved unsuccessful.
The Beechcraft King Air plane departed Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at approximately 10:14 a.m. and crashed shortly after takeoff.Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Moser said crews responded within minutes to a call reporting the crash. While no homes were damaged, rescuers found debris near a neighborhood retention pond. “You couldn’t see the plane itself,” Moser said. “They followed the trail of debris into the water. We had divers go into the water and try to look for victims and they didn’t find any.”
Rescue efforts concluded without locating any occupants, and recovery operations have been turned over to Coral Springs Police. The Federal Aviation Governance will investigate the cause of the crash.
The plane’s registered owner is International Air Services, a company specializing in FAA aircraft registration for non-U.S. citizens. A company representative declined to comment when contacted by a reporter.
Coral Springs police did not promptly respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press. Firefighters responded to the scene at 10:19 a.m., just five minutes after the plane took off.
