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A Beechcraft V35B Bonanza (N6659L) crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida, starting a post-impact fire and killing three people.
The pilot and two people on the ground were killed when the Bonanza experienced engine failure and crashed into a mobile home park, engulfing the plane and several mobile homes in flames. Clearwater Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Ehlers said the department received an alert about a structure fire on Thursday evening while St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) received notification that the Bonanza had lost communication with the tower.
First responders arrived on the scene with aircraft response vehicles, designed to put these types of large fires out. The fire spread to several structures and the aircraft was found predominantly in one structure. Ehlers confirmed there were several fatalities both in the aircraft and on the ground. Chief of Police Eric Gandy said that once the fire is contained and the victims have been found the scene is turned over to law enforcement and the NTSB and FAA will begin investigating.
AP News reports that about 10 people were having drinks in a woman's mobile home before the plane crashed into the property. Guests were finishing up inside when the plane crashed and the mobile home went up in flames, neighbor Rick Renner told The Associated Press.
"It was just one big ball of flames," Renner said to AP News. "You couldn't even tell there was a mobile home there."