World

Cecil Murray, pilot of plane dies after hitting Florida house

by Amy Judd | April 17, 2009 at 08:25 am

621 views | 12 Recommendations | 3 comments

Update: 2:42pm PST

Cecil Murray, the pilot of the small plane that crashed into a house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this morning has died. Murray was alone in the plane when it went down. The cause of the crash is still unknown.

The pilot, identified by neighbors as Cecil Murray, was killed in the accident, which happened about 11:15 a.m., just after take-off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. Witnesses reported seeing flames from the plane's engine before it went down in the 5200 block of Northwest First Avenue, near Commercial Boulevard and Andrews Avenue.

The owner of the house, Oscar Nolasco, was not at home, but his nephew, Alex Martines, had only left for his job minutes before. Witnesses say that the plane just tore into the house like a tornado and shredded everything, sending people nearby running for cover.

Previously:

A small plane has crashed into a house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Smoke can be seen coming from the crash site and half the home is destroyed, however firefighters have confirmed that the fire is under control.

The plane, which the Federal Aviation Administration said is a twin-engine Cessna 41, appeared to have virtually disintegrated on impact, reports WFOR. A pile of rubble could be seen smoldering in the yard.

It is not known if anyone was inside the house at the time.

The plane took off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport and seems to have developed a problem shortly after takeoff.
The plane is a Cessna 421 and can seat up to 8 people, but it is not known how many were on board at this time.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

jazzyzazzy

at 08:52 on April 17th, 2009

Fistsly,am glad no one has been killed.Tho we seem to be hearing a lot of news on the small planes crashing. It seems to happen a bit too often, Those planes are checked over before each flight. Then they crash.mmmmmmmmmmm

mike3k

at 10:31 on April 17th, 2009

This is the third small plane from Executive Airport that crashed since 2004. The last one landed right in the middle of a street without hitting anything not too far from this one.