MIAMI — A single-engine Cessna with three people aboard crash-landed on a bridge Saturday near Miami, striking an SUV with three people inside.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna 172 lost power around 1 p.m. after departing Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport bound for Key West. The plane attempted to land on the Haulover Inlet bridge and hit an SUV head-on. The plane then flipped and burst into flames, according to The Miami Herald.
“This is a terrible tragedy that has sent shock waves throughout our NATCA family,” NATCA President Rich Santa said in a statement.
Narciso Torres, who was in the plane, died in the crash, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association told the Herald. Torres was a Miami International Airport traffic controller who had worked with the FAA for over a decade.
The remaining two people aboard the plane were taken to a trauma center, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
The occupants of the SUV, a woman and two children, escaped the crash without serious injuries, according to the Herald.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.