MIAMI — One person is dead and five others were injured, including two toddlers, when a small plane crash-landed on a bridge near Haulover Park on Saturday afternoon, striking a car and bursting into flames, authorities said.
At around 1 p.m., the single-engine Cessna 172 lost engine power and landed on the Haulover Inlet Bridge, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The plane took off from Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport with three people on board headed for Key West International Airport.
A woman and two toddlers were in a car driving on the bridge when the plane made the emergency landing, Miami-Dade police said. The plane and car collided in a head-on collision, flipping the plane and causing it to engulf in flames. Another car was clipped in the crash.
When Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived, two of three plane passengers were already outside of the aircraft. After firefighters put out the blaze, they found a person dead inside the plane, police said.
The woman and children are in good, stable condition and were taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center as a precaution. One person was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center and their condition is unknown, police said. Another person was taken to Aventura Hospital.
Due to fuel runoff from the crash, the Department of Environmental Resources Management was called to the scene at Collins Avenue and 108th Street, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said.
Social media video shows the plane on the bridge, which spans the inlet where Biscayne Bay flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The bridge is just north of Bal Harbour, Surfside and Miami Beach, and south of Haulover Park and Sunny Isles Beach.
On the bridge, the plane caught fire and broke up. A minivan sat heavily damaged near the plane.
Bal Harbour Manager Jorge Gonzalez said that the crash is having a ripple effect on traffic in the Miami Beach and Northeast Miami-Dade areas.
“It is going to be a challenge for some time,” Gonzalez said. “The traffic grid is very fragile. An accident like this will have repercussions throughout Northeast Dade.”
Sunny Isles Beach police said the Haulover Inlet Bridge on Collins Avenue is closed between Sunny Isles Beach and Bal Harbour.
Southbound Collins Avenue is also closed at 158th Street to the north, and traffic is being diverted. Police advise drivers to find other routes. Heavy delays are expected for hours.
“We are trying to ensure residents and guests of area hotels can get in,” Gonzalez said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash.
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