Witness describes 'fireball' right before plane crashed into Florida mobile homes: NTSB

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WPEC) — Two people who saw last month’s fiery fatal plane crash into mobile homes in Clearwater, Florida both described a bright light enveloping the single-engine Beech V35 as it went down.

One of the witnesses told federal investigators she did not hear anything at first and did not know at first that what she reported as a “fireball” or something on fire was an airplane.

The newly released National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report on the Feb. 1 crash that killed three people, including the pilot and two people who were in a mobile home, offered new insights last moments for the flight, which had departed from Vero Beach.

Investigators noted several surveillance cameras at nearby businesses showed a light, accompanied by engine noises, in a steep descent followed by a fireball. The second witness, a pilot flying close to the scene, estimated the plane was falling at 30 to 40 angle, calling it “an uncontrolled descent,” the report continued. He described a “very bright light” going down fast and reported it to air traffic control.

Before the crash, which happened shortly after 7 p.m., the pilot of Beech V35 had called out to air traffic control at Clearwater Air Park, saying he could not see the airport and asking them to turn on the runway lights. Two people at the airport told investigators about the broadcast and said after the pilot asked again, the runway lighting was set at its highest intensity.

Later, both people at the Clearwater airport said they heard the pilot, who was identified as Jemin Patel, state there was a fire, the NTSB report stated.

Federal investigators detailed Patel’s route as he flew near the Clearwater airport and said a controller told the pilot he was about one mile south of it. Within a minute, Patel responded, “I’m losing engine.”

While the controller tried a couple more times to guide Patel to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, three miles away, that was the last message received from the plane.

Two people, Martha Perry, 86, and Mary Allen Pender, 55, who were in the mobile home at the time also died in the crash.

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