PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — Two women suffered minor injuries Friday after a small plane crashed moments after taking off from North Perry Airport, renewing concerns about safety at the airport.
Local 10 News cameras captured a crew flipping over the Blue Sky Aviation aircraft after the crash.
“Shortly after it took off, it experienced engine failure,” said Pembroke Pines Mayor Angelo Castillo.
Around 11:30 a.m. Friday, the Cessna 172 plunged from the sky moments after departing North Perry Airport.
“Didn’t have the altitude, hit a tree, went into a ditch here and flipped over,” Castillo said. “It’s a good thing for that because it was headed right for a building where patients receiving mental health and medical care live.”
Sky 10 flew above the crash site, showing the downed aircraft mangled and appearing to be in pieces. The pilot and passenger both survived.
“These kind of occurrences are happening over and over and over and I’ve had it,” Castillo said.
The aircraft nearly crashed into a South Florida state hospital.
The incident is far from the first crash connected to North Perry Airport, which is home to a handful of flight schools.
“In the last five years, we’ve had over 35 accidents with aircraft taking off from North Perry Airport,” attorney Zach Gorwitz said.
The seemingly growing number of incidents has many questioning the safety of the flight schools.
“We’re calling on Broward County to do what they have to do to make this place safe. If they can’t make it safe then they need to close it the hell down and go put it somewhere else where those planes don’t threaten people,” Castillo said.
The crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
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