3 dead after small plane crashes into mobile home in Florida: Officials

Four homes were engulfed in flames.

February 3, 2024, 8:50 AM

A pilot and two people on the ground died when a small plane crashed into a mobile home in Clearwater, Florida, on Thursday night, officials said.

The two people who died in the mobile home were identified by the City of Clearwater Saturday as Martha Perry, 86, and Mary Ellen Pender, 54. Perry lived in the home and Pender was visiting, the city said.

The pilot was identified as Jemin Patel, 54, of Melbourne Beach.

A total of four homes were engulfed in fire, but firefighters quickly doused the flames, officials said.

PHOTO: A small plane crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida, on Feb. 1, 2024.
A small plane crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida, on Feb. 1, 2024.
Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department

People in the three other homes that caught fire were evacuated from their residences and are OK, according to the authorities.

Clearwater Police said Friday that the crash "could have been even worse" because "as many as nine people had been inside the mobile home" shortly before the crash.

Clearwater Fire & Rescue said the crash was reported at 7:08 p.m. ET.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35 crashed after the pilot reported an engine failure. There were no other injuries reported from the crash.

PHOTO: A small plane crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida, on Feb. 1, 2024.
A small plane crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida, on Feb. 1, 2024.
Steven Ascari

Officials said the aircraft went off radar about 3 miles north of the airport runway, where the mobile home park is located.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

ABC News' Clara McMichael contributed to this report.