The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report of a small plane crash on a Miami bridge last month that killed the pilot and injured others.
Veteran pilot Narciso Torres, 36, was killed May 14 when a Cessna 172 crashed on the Haulover Inlet bridge. Two other passengers who were on the plane were able to get out and were hospitalized.
Officials said the plane departed for Key West International Airport at 12:38 p.m. on the day of the crash. About 15-20 minutes after takeoff, Torres called "the tower" and said there was an engine problem and that he had to return, the NTSB report said. The passenger noted Torres seemed concerned but not panicked.
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When the plane was southbound along Miami Beach, Torres transmitted to air traffic, “Miami Approach…Mayday-Mayday-Mayday…54Z, uh lost engine power …I don’t know where I am going to put this down but I’m going down right here," before the plane started losing altitude, the report said.
“There’s three souls," Torres told air traffic after they asked him how many people were on the flight. "There’s um a road right here…a little bridge, I’m going to make that, 54Z."
The NTSB said this was the last transmission from the pilot.
The plane struck a vehicle from behind on the northbound side, crossed over the median, and struck another vehicle that was traveling southbound from the front, the report said. It burst into flames after it struck the vehicles and came to a rest.
The NTSB report said the plane touched down "in a northbound direction with the left main landing gear tire and right main landing gear tire straddling the concrete median."
The preliminary investigation also revealed no evidence of fuel contamination and that all inspections were up-to-date.
A family of three in an SUV miraculously survived after the plane hit them head-on.
The investigation into the cause of the crash continues.
