Police released the 911 calls Thursday of the moments after a small plane crash landed near the Pompano Beach Air Park.
The 1978 Cessna 172 went down just before 6 p.m. Tuesday in the 500 block of Northeast 10th Street, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.
"An airplane, a little airplane just crashed on Northeast 5th Avenue and 10th Street," says one caller. "Send somebody, send somebody, there's nobody...it's not moving."
Authorities said the plane had just taken off from the air park when it suffered mechanical problems and began to lose altitude. It narrowly missed power lines before it hit the ground and its left wing struck a palm tree, causing it to break in half.
The plane was being piloted by 42-year-old David Bakalar and his flight instructor, 27-year-old Vincent Paul, according to the BSO.
"There is nobody moving inside the airplane, I didn't see nobody getting out," the man tells the emergency operator, who asks him if he sees flames or fire.
"No, there is no fire, people are afraid to walk in and get close to it," he replies.
By the time police and rescue workers arrived, Bakalar and Paul had been able to walk away from the wrecked plane with minor injuries. Both were transported to North Broward Medical Center as a precaution.
"A plane just crashed, the guys got out, banged up, but it's leaking fuel all over the streets," another 911 caller said.
Cleanup crews were still working Wednesday to remove the fuel, and officials with the National Transportation Safety Board were still inspecting the plane to determine what caused it to crash.
