TALLAHASSEE, USA: Two people died Friday when a private plane lost its engines and crashed on a Florida highway, authorities said.
Five people were aboard the Bombardier Challenger 600 when it plunged on Interstate 75 near the small city of Naples at about 3:15 p.m. (2015 GMT), said the Federal Aviation Administration on X.
Two minutes before the plane was due to land at Naples Municipal Airport, the pilot called air traffic control to say he had “cut both engines and requested an emergency landing,” airport spokesman Robin King told AFP in a statement.
“The air traffic controller immediately cleared the aircraft to land when the pilot stated he would not make it to the runway… (and) attempted to land on I-75.”
Three people survived the crash, King said. Both victims died on impact, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
It was not known if the plane hit any moving vehicle on the highway.
Images broadcast by local media showed burning wreckage on the side of the highway, billowing out black plumes of smoke.
It took off from Ohio State University Airport, King said.
The accident will be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
