Small plane crash-lands near elementary school; no injuries reported

By Nicole Linsalata, Kathleen Ditton, Kevin Boulandier, Alex Browning

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    MIRAMAR, Florida (WSVN) — A small plane with two people on board made an emergency landing on a field next to an elementary school in Miramar, authorities said.

The Piper PA-28 came down near Coconut Palm Elementary School at 13601 Monarch Lakes Blvd., just after 1 p.m., Wednesday.

“Somewhere along the flight, they noticed that they had a problem with the engine. They looked for a place to land and safely managed to land [near] the school playground,” said Miramar Police Chief Delrish Moss. “Moments before, they not only had activities in that portable, but they also had kids out on the field.”

Miramar Police confirmed that while the aircraft sustained some damage, there were no injuries reported.

The school did not sustain any damage.

The school was not placed on lockdown, and traffic flow in the area was not affected by the incident.

According to Flightradar24, the plane took off just before 1 p.m. from North Perry Airport. The pilot stayed close to the airport and then headed west before coming down on the field.

“We got engine failure. We are just gonna land somewhere here,” said the pilot.

“3055 Bravo. You said engine failure?” said the tower dispatcher.

“We got engine failure. 55 Bravo,” said the pilot.

“55 Bravo. Roger. You’re going to be able to make it to the field?” said the dispatcher.

“No, I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to the field, just going to land right here,” said the pilot.

On its descent, the plane clipped a fence and skirted between two portables but didn’t touch either of them.

Moments after it crash-landed, another pilot flew overhead and reported back to the tower.

“I’m right over him. He’s just about two to three miles east of Interstate-75. They just landed here on a little forest here next to the houses,” said the other pilot.

Police said that minutes before the plane landed, the portable was being used for school activities and there were children playing in the playground. Thankfully, everyone had gone back inside when the pilot landed.

This is not the first time this plane, owned by a company out of Delaware, has had to make an emergency landing. In 2022, the same plane made an emergency landing at North Perry Airport. No injuries were reported at that time either.

Area resident Santiago said it is a miracle that the landing did not cause any damage or injury.

“It’s a miracle, a miracle. He made a perfect landing. Had he gone further in there and the kids were playing, that would’ve been a catastrophe. That guy that flew that airplane deserves a medal,” he said.

Another neighbor said she is thankful everyone was OK.

“Wow, they were lucky and the school, the kids, oof. I know the parents were probably very worried,” said Miriam Zeno.

Police detectives stayed on the scene all day Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration is leading the investigation.

The FAA released a statement that reads:

“A Piper PA-28 crashed in a field shortly after taking off from North Perry Airport in Hollywood, Florida, around 1:05 p.m. local time on Wednesday, March 12. Two people were on board. The FAA will investigate.”

Parents said they received an email about what happened.

“I knew we were near dismissal time, so that was another concern. To see where did it hit, where did it land? Did it land in the building? Did it land on the field or what not?” said Luzmary Ocambo.

The National Transportation Safety Board is currently looking into the incident.

The plane is expected to be disassembled and removed from the campus on Thursday.

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