Minister Vaz: Plane that crashed in Florida had no permit to land in Jamaica

Jamaica’s Transport Minister Daryl Vaz says the small plane that crashed Monday in a Coral Springs neighborhood while on its way to Jamaica with hurricane relief supplies had no permit to land in the country.

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“I can confirm that the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority has advised me that there was an application made by the said plane, N30HG, to land in Montego Bay at the IAM Jet Centre by email on November 10th. The IAM Jet Centre replied advising of the requirements for a permit to be issued and was not responded to. Therefore, no permit to land in Jamaica was granted,” Vaz said in an update Monday evening.

Despite that, the transport minister said the aircraft had already made two trips to Jamaica since the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

“We were advised by the Civil Aviation Authority through their Navigational Service Division that there was a flight that took off out of Florida this morning that crashed. We have no details on the pilot or passenger or cargo at this point, but we can confirm that the applicant would have done two trips to Jamaica through Cayman to Jamaica since Melissa. We await further information from the U.S. authorities,” Vaz added.

Two people were killed Monday morning after the small plane — a Beechcraft King Air twin-turboprop — crashed into a lake in the Windsor Bay community of Coral Springs, Florida. Officials said the aircraft had departed from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport around 10:14 a.m., bound for Jamaica with hurricane relief supplies.

The crash occurred just before 10:20 a.m. near the 5000 block of Northwest 57th Way, west of State Road 7 and south of the Sawgrass Expressway.

Coral Springs Fire Rescue said a dive team initially searched the lake but found no victims or large pieces of wreckage. “We have not found an entire plane yet; we believe that it may be broken into smaller pieces,” Deputy Fire Chief Mike Moser said during a briefing. “This is very preliminary.”

Police later confirmed that both people aboard the aircraft were killed. Their identities have not yet been released, and no one on the ground was injured.

Video from CBS Miami’s Chopper 4 showed debris scattered in backyards and damage to a fence and trees before the plane plunged into a man-made pond.

Several roads, including Creekside Drive from Northwest 66th Terrace to Northwest 53rd Drive, were closed as crews worked to clear the scene. Coral Springs Police urged residents to avoid the area and to report any debris found to 954-344-1800, warning that the smell of aviation fuel may linger.

A large police and emergency presence will remain in the area as the Coral Springs Police Department coordinates with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Broward Sheriff’s Office to investigate the cause of the crash.

“We appreciate the patience and understanding of the community throughout this investigation,” police said in a statement.