The two men who died in a plane crash in Pembroke Pines Monday were owners of an aviation business in North Perry, and one customer spoke to NBC 6 about how shocked he was to hear the news.
The crash took place in the afternoon Monday when 63-year-old Yaacov Nahom and 71-year-old Grant Hustad flew into an SUV not far from North Perry Airport, fatally injuring 4-year-old Taylor Bishop.
"He was a very cool guy," realtor Saul Suarez said of Hustad. The two had flown together when Suarez was looking into purchasing an aircraft. "He was always polite, always kind."
The Beechcraft Bonanza plane had just taken off from North Perry and was returning to the airport after possibly experiencing mechanical issues, officials said.
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A neighbor's Ring door camera recorded the crash, showing the plane nose-diving into the SUV driven by Taylor's mother, Megan Bishop.
Suarez says his girlfriend first told him about the crash. “At the time their names were not released, but I did do a little bit of research, and I realized this was one of Grant’s airplanes for sale. That’s when everything clicked,” he said.
“My original reaction was disbelief. It took me a couple of hours for the news to sink in," Suarez continued. "I even called his cell phone and I got his voice mail. Even now, I’m in shock that it happened."
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Some residents near North Perry are calling for changes as drastic as shutting down the airport due to what the County confirmed were 14 accidents over the last 5 years.
Randy Migdalski, President of Pines Village Group Incorporated, said that "The airport itself, I feel, is safer than what’s out on the street as far as tragedy. The residents in Pines Village all embrace the airport.”
Migdalski represents 1,800 homeowners who live in the area east of North Perry Airport.
Broward County Mayor Steve Geller told NBC 6 that the airport itself isn’t at fault for any of these incidents, and that the accident rate for North Perry is on overage with road airports across Florida.
It will be months before the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board has the final report on what happened in Monday’s tragedy.
