Small plane crashes in lake behind Florida home

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — A small plane crashed into a lake behind a home in a gated community in Coral Springs, Florida, officials confirmed Monday.

Emergency crews were called to the area, where witnesses told dispatchers of a small plane flying dangerously low.

Mike Moser, deputy chief of Coral Springs Fire Rescue, said an initial 911 call came in at 10:19 a.m. about a plane that crashed into a lake in the Windsor Bay neighborhood along Creekside Terrace. He said it’s not yet known how large the plane is or how many passengers were on board.

“Our team has conducted a preliminary dive, but no victims have been found,” he said.

The entire plane had yet to be found, either, as of about noon. Moser also said they do not know how many people were on the plane.

“Fortunately the plane did not strike any houses,” Moser said.

Moser said a big field of debris was cast around the neighborhood, so any residents with pieces of debris should contact the Coral Springs Police Department.

Initial aerial photos showed a damaged fence behind a home and a small oil slick on the lake.

Creekside Drive, from Northwest 66th Terrace to Northwest 53rd Drive, is closed, and everyone is asked to avoid the area.

Chris Howes, who lives in a home along Creekside Drive, said she heard what she thought sounded like “rapid acceleration” and then a boom.

“The noise just didn’t fit anything I’d heard before,” she said.

She thought perhaps it was a car crash or an accident with a landscaping crew. When she came out and saw the hordes of police and fire rescue crews as well as the helicopters, she knew it was something more.

Zane Smith, who lives in The Arbors community near Windsor Bay, heard a loud boom.

Smith said he and his business partner thought a bomb went off. His business partner’s glass fell as what felt like a shock wave reverberated through the home.

The National Weather Service Miami said in an area forecast about 7 a.m. that gusty winds would start later in the morning and become “robust” in the afternoon.