A plane carrying two people crash landed near a Broward airport Tuesday evening, but thanks to some quick thinking both passengers walked away from the crash.
The plane, a Cessna 172, landed shortly after 7:30 p.m. near the Rustic Inn restaurant just west of the Interstate 95 and the Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport.
On board the Cessna were pilot Robertus Schrama, 59, and passenger Joan Phillips, 53. Schrama radioed the control tower around 7:30 p.m., saying he'd lost power two miles from the runway, and wouldn't make it.
Witnesses said they saw the plane bank right and drop right into the middle of a nearby field.
The first person to run toward the plane to help was William Malo, who was working on his car outside his home just 50 yards from the site of the crash landing.
"I saw them getting out, they were looking shocked," Malo said. "And I just told them to come over here and lay down, like, sit down, and just told them to stay there until emergency comes."
Malo said the two were in a state of shock. "The man was quiet. But the lady was like laughing and then she started crying," he said.
Schrama and Phillips were transported to Broward General Medical Center with cuts and severe bruising.
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Employees at the Rustic Inn said the plane made no noise when it went down and there was little fire or smoke from what they could see.
Fred Elson’s home is a couple of hundred yards from the spot the plane went down. He says the plane lost power, its propeller static, and glided right over his home.
"And he's way short of the runway,” said Elson, describing what he saw. “If his engine wasn't running, there was no way he as going to make it. He was probably better off landing here or dropping it down here, then trying to make it any further."
Schrama and Phillips told authorities they left New Orleans Tuesday morning and made stops in Panama City and Williston prior to heading to Ft. Lauderdale.
Within 90 minutes of the crash landing, authorities had it pretty well figured out.
"The pilot reported to our firefighters on the scene that about two miles out from the airport, he lost power in the Cessna 172,” said Mike Jachles, spokesperson for the Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue. “There is fuel on board. The pilot apparently did the right thing by shutting down the batteries, shutting down the fuel. Otherwise, we could have been looking at pretty sizeable fire right now."
Every eyewitness contacted at the scene by NBC Miami said the pilot did a good job of finding this small slice of open land.
"The two people on board walked away with their lives today,” said Jachles, “probably thanks to the actions of the pilot."
The crash happened near the end of rush hour and several traffic accidents were reported minutes after the plane went down.
