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Federal Aviation Administration and Florida Highway Patrol officials said a small plane with five people on board collided with a vehicle near a freeway exit in Collier County, Florida, on Friday afternoon, leaving a trail of burns and crashing on the interstate. Highway 75 was closed.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office confirmed at least two deaths.
The plane was flying from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, to the Naples, Florida, airport and was scheduled to fly to Fort Lauderdale, said Robin King, director of communications for the Naples Airport Authority.She said the airport lost contact with the plane shortly before it crashed around 3:10 p.m., and the plane departed from Ohio at 12:30 p.m.
“We were just about to land,” King said. He said: “We received a call that we may have lost an engine, but we haven’t confirmed that. After that, we lost contact.”
The plane crashed at 3:12 p.m., according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
No ambulances were dispatched to the accident. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles told USA TODAY that at least two vehicles were involved in the crash and both northbound and southbound Interstate 75 were closed.
The plane was a Bombardier Challenger 600 private jet, according to flight tracking site www.hopajetworldwide.com.
Naples Airport sent a fire truck loaded with a special foam-type substance to help control the jet fuel fire. Florida Highway Patrol Troopers were called to the scene.
The NTSB said the crash is being considered an accident. The agency did not provide additional information.
Officials said Ohio’s airports are commercial facilities. OSU spokesman Ben Johnson confirmed that no one at OSU was involved in the flight.
The FAA and NTSB will investigate the crash.
This is the latest news. Please check the latest information.
USA TODAY Network’s Naples Daily News and Fort Myers News-Press journalists Kate Cimini, Liz Freeman and Alex Martin contributed to this report.
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