Small plane carrying hurricane aid to Jamaica crashes into Florida pond minutes after takeoff; 'No victims found,' say authorities

A small plane carrying hurricane relief supplies to Jamaica crashed into a pond in a residential area of Coral Springs, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, on Monday, minutes after taking off.

Authorities said no victims were found during initial rescue efforts, which have now shifted to a recovery operation led by local police. It was not immediately known how many people were on board the aircraft.


Coral Springs-Parkland fire department deputy chief Mike Moser said crews responded within minutes of a call reporting the crash. “There was no actual plane to be seen,” he said. “They followed the debris trail to the water. We had divers that entered the water and tried to search for any victims and didn’t find any.”

Moser added that no homes were damaged in the crash and that federal aviation officials would investigate the cause.

The plane had taken off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at around 10:14 am, according to a spokesperson for the City of Fort Lauderdale, which owns and operates the airport. Coral Springs police officers and fire crews arrived at the scene at 10:19 am, just five minutes after takeoff.

Broward County, where the plane took off and later crashed, is home to a large Caribbean American community that had been actively collecting relief supplies after Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 storm last month, causing major damage.

The plane was on a humanitarian mission to deliver aid to communities affected by the hurricane.