The victims of a deadly plane crash in Coral Springs have been identified as a father and daughter who were on their way to Jamaica to assist in Hurricane Melissa relief efforts, according to an evangelical Christian church ministry.
The crash happened around 10:20 a.m. Monday in a neighborhood the area of the 5000 block of Northwest 57th Way, just west of State Road 7 and south of the Sawgrass Expressway.
Surveillance video from a nearby home showed the plane narrowly miss a house as it clipped some trees and took out part of a backyard fence as it crashed into a lake, sending water into the air and creating waves in the water. One of the plane’s wheels could be seen next to a pool in the backyard as first responders were working at the scene.
CORAL SPRINGS PLANE CRASH
Late Monday, the ministry Ignite the Fire identified the victims as its CEO Alexander Wurm, 53, and his daughter, Serena, 22.
Officials with the City of Fort Lauderdale said the plane, a Beechcraft King Air, had left Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport and was en route to Montego Bay in Jamaica to assist in Hurricane Melissa relief efforts when it crashed.
The ministry also confirmed that information in their statement.
“Evangelist Wurm is the founder of Ignite the Fire Ministry, dedicated to empowering youth through missions and evangelism across the Caribbean,” the statement reads. “Together, their final journey embodied selflessness and courage, reminding us of the power of service and love.”
Alexander Wurm is survived by his wife and two children, a son and a daughter, according to the organization.
The plane was registered to a company called International Air Services, and those who worked with Wurm said he was making repeated trips to Jamaica with supplies that they couldn’t get anywhere else.
Video posted by Wurm’s organization showed he was in Jamaica delivering aid last Thursday in what appears to be the same plane that crashed on Monday.
Flight records showed the plane was only in the air for about three minutes and that it fell out of the sky at a high rate of speed, about 300 miles per hour.
The records showed they started to descend after reaching an altitude of 11,000 feet, but what caused them to make a rapid descent remains under investigation.
“It was a big shadow over my head and it was loud, I was on the phone with a friend and she said ‘what is that,?’ She thought it was a car, I said ‘that’s a plane,’” neighbor Michele Ribaudo said.
After the crash, police and fire rescue crews responded and dive teams searched the water, but initially weren’t able to find any victims. Officials later confirmed that two people were killed.
No one on the ground was injured.
Multiple jurisdictions, including Coral Springs Fire Rescue, the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board continued to investigate the cause of the crash on Tuesday.
Footage showed investigators at the scene collecting items from the lake.
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