CLEARWATER — Police identified a Melbourne Beach man as the pilot of a plane that experienced an engine failure before crashing into a mobile home unit late Thursday, killing three people. The impact killed the man along with two women who were in the residence. Officers also released the identities of the women.
The Beechcraft Bonanza V35 aircraft took off from Vero Beach Regional Airport and crashed in Clearwater, aviation officials said.
Clearwater police identified the pilot as 54-year-old Jemin Patel.
Police identified the women as 86-year-old Martha Parry, who lived at the Bayside Waters manufactured home community, and 54-year-old Mary Ellen Pender, of Treasure Island. Pender was a visitor at the mobile home park, police said.
Police said they would remain at the scene into Saturday, when the National Transporation Safety Board was expected to remove the wreckage.
The crash occurred about 7 p.m. Thursday at Bayside Waters, prompting a large response of firefighters from multiple jurisdictions, Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department officials said. The impact set several units ablaze.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames and discovered there was an aircraft in one of the units, Fire Chief Scott Ehlers previously said. Patel was the only person aboard the plane, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The single-engine plane – owned by Control Data Inc – took off from the Vero Beach Regional Airport about 6:08 p.m., Flight Aware data shows. The plane reached an altitude of 6,000 feet, traveling 198 mph before the wreck.
The aircraft traveled 169 miles, officials said. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service said there was no rain throughout the day and the skies were clear.
The NTSB is leading the investigation, officials said. A preliminary crash report will be available within 30 days.
