Three people onboard a small plane died after it crashed Friday morning near the Boca Raton Airport in Florida.
The victims were identified as 81-year-old Robert Stark, 54-year-old Stephen Stark and 17-year-old Brooke Stark, according to the Boca Raton Police Services Department.
One person who was in a Toyota on the ground, sustained non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. He was identified as 24-year-old Pablo Tafur.
The plane’s pilot reported rudder issues shortly before the crash, a source with knowledge of the situation told NBC News.
The Cessna 310 aircraft left the Boca Raton Airport when it went down along Military Trail near the Glades Road overpass around 10:20 a.m. ET. It was headed to Tallahassee International Airport.
Freshman flight school student Jared Scarpato said he went outside with his instructor and saw that the plane was flying “too fast and too low.”
“I said out loud, you know, he’s too low. And you know, what’s going through my mind is … once he goes out of sight, you know that’s just really … devastating,” Scarpato said.
The plane seemed to circle in the air before turning back toward the airport in Boca Raton. Witnesses who work in the area reported seeing the aircraft flying low and then felt the building shake.
The plane burst into flames after it crashed, according to the news station.
Tafur, who was driving a Toyota Prius on Military Trail, “lost control amidst the fire and crashed into a tree,” according to the Boca Raton Police Services Department.
The Boca Raton airport briefly closed following the crash. Road closures along the north of the Military Trail will be in place through the weekend, according to police.
