Several dead as small plane crashes and burns in Florida mobile home park

Clearwater, February 2  

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A small plane crashed at a Florida mobile home park on Thursday, killing several people aboard the plane and in one home, fire officials said.

The pilot of the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35 reported an engine failure shortly before the aircraft went down at about 7 pm, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.

It crashed in the Bayside Waters mobile home park in Clearwater, hitting one home and leaving at least three homes with fire damage, although the flames were quickly doused, Clearwater Fire Chief Scott Ehlers said at a news conference.

“The aircraft was found in the one structure,” Ehlers said.

Ehlers didn’t give the exact number of people killed, saying only that several people aboard the plane and in a home died. The FAA said it wasn’t clear how many people were on the plane.

Ehlers said the pilot reported an emergency to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport shortly before the plane went off radar about five kilometres north of a runway.

The airport is about 11 kilometres southeast of Clearwater.

Federal investigators would examine the scene, authorities said.