Plane carrying 4 crashes at Naples Airport

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Officials are investigating why a plane containing four people crashed at the Naples Airport.

Four passengers survived after their six-seat aircraft banged into several buildings before finally coming to a skidding stop.

The Federal Aviation Administration inspector in charge told us the pilot and his wife, teenage son and the teen’s friend just took off in the plane at around 1 a.m. Wednesday when they had an engine issue and attempted to make an emergency landing.

Crash investigators said the plane landed backward when the left wing hit the Rex Air building, and then it crashed into the Naples Jet Center.

The momentum turned and pushed them back in their seats but allowed them to walk away.

Naples Fire Rescue, Greater Naples Fire and Collier County EMS crews responded to the overnight crash.

WINK News deployed reporter Zoe Warner to the scene earlier in the morning. Upon arrival, she described the intense fog blanketing the area.

WINK News spoke with law enforcement, who said no injuries were reported and that those on board refused medical attention.

The Naples Airport Facebook account posted an update regarding the crash:

A 36 Bonanza made an emergency landing shortly after take-off at the @NaplesAirport on January 1, and thankfully all four people on board walked away from the aircraft. A few buildings on the airport grounds were damaged and the airport has resumed normal operations. Naples Airport

“The aircraft is a total loss,” said Robin King, Naples Airport Communications Director. “The engine is no longer attached to the airplane; the prop is no longer attached to the airplane. One wing is pretty much destroyed, and we are thankful that the four individuals walked away from this unharmed.”

While attempting to land, the small aircraft crashed into multiple airport buildings, including the hangar.

“There’s numerous buildings that are damaged,” King continued. “The airplane had just taken off about 1 a.m. [and] did not gain much altitude. We do not know what happened. We can’t even speculate what happened to the airplane, but they clipped a couple of buildings and basically came to rest outside of the airfield.”

The FAA will move the plane to Jacksonville on Thursday and investigate what caused the crash.

The inspector in charge we spoke with was also the inspector in charge of the Naples Interstate 75 plane crash last year.

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