Police release 911 calls in Fort Lauderdale plane crash

3 killed in plane crash near Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Fort Lauderdale police released 911 calls made after a plane crashed Friday, killing three men inside it.

Steven Waller, 65, of Deerfield Beach, Wallis "Wally" Watson, 66, of Boca Raton, and Kevin Watson, 30, of Pompano Beach, were killed. Waller was the pilot.

"911, what's your emergency?" said the operator.

"A plane just crashed," replied the caller.

"Where?" asked the operator.

"I'm right off of Powerline Road heading toward Commercial," answered the caller. "I can saw it going down."

LISTEN: 911 call 1 | 911 call 2 | 911 call 3 | 911 call 4 | 911 call 5 |

"An airplane just crashed here on Commercial and Powerline," said another caller. "I just heard the big crash and I see the clouds -- I think there's cops out there right now."

"You don't know if there were people on the plane?" asked the operator.

"I'm not sure, ma'am," answered the caller.

Authorities said the twin-engine Piper Cheyenne propeller plane began experiencing engine trouble and tried to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. The crash Friday afternoon set about a dozen vehicles ablaze, but no one on the ground was hurt.

About a dozen repossessed vehicles and a boat were destroyed when the plane crashed.

Waller's wife said he was taking the plane on a test flight for the Waltons, the father and son owners of Avionics Engineering. No one at the company offered comment Monday.