Pilot Ian Hofmann.Photo:GoFundMe
GoFundMe
Witnesses are sharing images they captured of Friday’sfiery plane crashon a Florida highway that left two people dead, including a pilot with four decades of experience.
The Bombardier Challenger 600 jet involved in the deadly crashwent down on Interstate 75near Naples around 3:15 p.m. local time on Friday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The footage also shows the raging fire resulting from the crash consuming much of the site.
Three people survived the crash, while two pilots — 50-year-old Edward Daniel Murphy, of Oakland Park, and 60-year-old Ian Frederick Hofmann, of Pompano Beach — did not, according to aFacebookpost from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.
Ian spent his last moments “calmly speaking with ATC as he tried to save the passengers and crew in the face of a desperate emergency,” said Chris Hofmann, one of Ian’s four children, in the description of aGoFundMe campaignfor his family.
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Chris described his father as “the ultimate professional pilot with over 40 years and 25,000 hours of experience,” as well as “a loving father and family man who was charismatic and beloved.”
As of publication Tuesday, nearly $30,000 has been raised through the online fundraiser to support Ian’s family.
“I would imagine that his primary concern the day of the accident were the lives of others on that plane,” they added.
The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the crash.
source: people.com
