The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed that a Bombardier Challenger 600 aircraft crashed Friday afternoon on Highway I-75 near Naples, Florida.
The FAA released a statement Friday afternoon on X, formerly Twitter, saying, “A Bombardier Challenger 600 jet crashed on Highway I-75 near Naples, Florida, around 3:15 p.m. local time Friday, Feb. 9.” The FAA confirmed that five people were on the plane when it crashed.
According to Naples Daily News, Robin King, director of communication at the Naples Airport Authority, explained that the Bombardier Challenger 600 aircraft had departed from Columbus, Ohio, and was traveling to Naples Airport on its way to Fort Lauderdale.
NBC reported that the Naples Airport Tower had been in contact with the aircraft prior to Friday’s crash. However, Naples Daily News reported that the Naples Airport Authority indicated that the airport lost communication with the aircraft just prior to the crash.
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“It was coming in for a landing,” she said. “We received word that it had possibly lost an engine, we have not confirmed that, then we lost contact.”
After the crash, the Florida Highway Patrol issued a traffic alert for SB I-75 Friday afternoon and indicated that all southbound lanes were temporarily closed near the location of the plane crash. Naples Airport reportedly sent firetrucks to the scene of the crash to contain the fire that was sparked by the crash.
Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are expected to investigate the cause of Friday’s crash.
