Disturbing air traffic control audio has revealed a moment of utter panic inside a private jet moments before it crashed on a Florida highway, killing two people.
The sound captured aboard the Bombardier Challenger 60 aircraft appears to be panicked voices or a damaged plane, but it is impossible to know.
It was the last transmission made by the plane, which had five people on board, before it crashed on I-75 outside Naples at 3:15 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Three people survived the tragedy, although no details have been shared about whether they were injured.
None of the people on board have been identified and the cause has yet to be identified, although one expert suggested that the loss of both engines could have been caused by a bird strike.
The plane was just a minute away from making an emergency landing at Naples airport, but another moment in the audio reveals how its pilot already knew he wouldn’t make it.
‘Okay, Challenger, Hop-A-Jet 823, lost both engines, emergency. “I’m making an emergency landing,” the pilot said.
A private plane crashed into several vehicles on a major highway, causing a huge explosion and killing two of the five people on board.
At least one brave motorist was seen running towards the downed plane, hoping to help survivors despite the extreme danger.
Air traffic control told his colleagues that he had an emergency and informed the pilot that he could land on runway 23.
But the pilot responded: ‘We have permission to land but we won’t make it to the runway.’ We have lost both engines.
Agonizing seconds of silence pass before a moment of pure, unintelligible panic erupts from the pilot.
Air traffic control responds by radio, but it is too late. The next transmission is another controller warning that there was an emergency in progress.
“Everyone be alert, there is an emergency in progress, everyone be alert,” he said.
Seconds later, a rescue helicopter requests authorization and is immediately granted. The plane crashed just 7 kilometers from the airport.
Dramatic photos and videos taken by passing motorists showed burning wreckage and debris strewn across I-75 in Collier Country, Florida.
Video showed an explosion rocking the burning plane and seconds later its charred left wing fell off.
A private plane crashed into a vehicle on a Florida highway causing a huge explosion
Numerous air disasters, even on much larger airlines, were caused by bird strikes, including the US Airways Flight 1549 ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ in 2009.
Dramatic photos and videos taken by passing motorists showed the burning wreckage and debris strewn across the road.
Video showed an explosion rocking the burning plane and seconds later its charred left wing fell off.
At least one brave motorist was seen running towards the downed plane, hoping to help survivors despite the extreme danger.
The flight was headed to Naples Airport from Ohio State University Airport, according to data from FlightAware, although the university says the plane simply used its facilities and had no connection to the university itself.
Both lanes of the highway were closed for four hours and traffic in the southbound lane will be closed for at least 24 hours.
Black smoke billows from crash as cars get stuck in hours-long traffic jam
Police and first responders flooded the scene, and state troopers only opened the road north four hours after the crash.
The plane belonged to Hop-a-Jet, a private charter company based in Florida, and was not connected to the university.
The company said it “received confirmed reports of an accident involving one of our chartered aircraft near Naples” and that it would send a team to the crash site.
“Our immediate concern is the well-being of our passengers, crew members and their families,” he said.
The Federal Aviation Authority closed all southbound lanes for 24 hours while it investigated the crash.
An FAA investigator was already on site and more would arrive over the weekend. A preliminary report was due within 30 days.
Police and first responders flooded the scene, and state troopers only opened the road north four hours after the crash.
Video footage captured by the drivers shows the aftermath of the crash, revealing burning flames emanating from the plane while a brave bystander is seen running into the smoke.
The plane, a Bombardier Challenger 600 with capacity for up to 14 people, would have lost an engine before the huge accident
The incident occurred on I-75 in Collier County near Pine Ridge Rd.