Residents Rush to the Rescue After Florida Plane Crash

A small plane's crash in a Miami suburb Sunday night prompted a swift response from nearby residents. The Cessna T337G, inbound from Turks and Caicos and attempting to land at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, clipped a tree and crashed just short of its destination, WPLG reports. Four occupants were hospitalized, including three family members who are expected to be discharged with only minor injuries. Neighbors wasted no time springing into action. TJ Jordan grabbed a garden hose to douse flames while others brought a fire extinguisher and an axe.

Video from the scene shows the group working together, trying to contain the fire before first responders arrived. Giovanna Hanley said her father-in-law, a first responder, was on hand to provide immediate care to the passengers. "Within seconds, my hero Father in Law was breaking glass and pulling out the injured on board," she said in a post on Facebook. "Because of him and our neighbors heroic efforts, 4 individuals were pulled to safety," she wrote. "By the time EMS arrived, all were accounted for, being cared for, and fire had been extinguished."

"This is personal. This is angering. This is unacceptable," Hanley said of the plane crash, the latest of many in the area. Angelo Castillo, the mayor of Pembroke Pines, said residents' efforts were "nothing short of heroic," the AP reports. "Residents put their dinner forks down to get out there," Castillo said. "Some had garden hoses to put the fire out." He said there have been more than 30 crashes at or near the airport, which serves small planes, in the past five years. "We need better assurances that these planes are not going to keep falling out of the sky," he said.

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A local street is named after Taylor Bishop, a 4-year-old boy who was one of three people killed when a plane hit an SUV in 2021. According to authorities, the cause of Sunday's crash remains unclear. Witnesses reported the aircraft appeared to lose lift before impact. One neighbor, Robert Cox, speculated the pilot tried to use the street as a makeshift runway but hit a large oak tree. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.