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Doomed plane’s final moments caught on video in Florida

An airport worker has captured horror footage showing a plane circling the sky before it crashed, erupting into a fireball.

Doomed plane's final moments caught on camera

An airport worker has captured horror footage showing a plane circling the sky before it crashed, erupting into a fireball.

The fatal crash occurred at Florida’s Boca Raton Airport on Friday shortly after 10am. Three people were killed when the Cessna 310 aircraft experienced what authorities believe was a mechanical issue.

Palm Beach County residents Brooke Stark, 17, her aviator father Stephen Stark, 54, and grandfather Robert Stark, 81, were the victims. They had been headed to Tallahassee International Airport.

The airport worker, known only as Kevin on his X account, posted the shocking last moments of the doomed plane along with his theory about what went wrong.

The flight engineer said it appeared there was an issue with the aircraft’s rudder.

“I was working today on Gulfstream and I saw Cessna 310 owned by an older gentleman that hangars the plane here at Boca airport,” Kevin wrote on X.

“When he took off he was so low I could tell his rudder was fully deflected left. RIP.”

The plane can be seen flying at the airport. Picture: Kev01Pione29673/X
The plane can be seen flying at the airport. Picture: Kev01Pione29673/X
The moment it crashed. Picture: Kev01Pione29673/X
The moment it crashed. Picture: Kev01Pione29673/X

Kevin said he had been working at the airport at the time, and watched in despair as the plane experienced difficulty.

Brooke Stark, 17, was killed in the crash. Picture: Social media
Brooke Stark, 17, was killed in the crash. Picture: Social media

He can be heard saying: ‘They just declared an emergency,” as he films the plane.

“His rudder is stuck – oh my god, he’s got a big f*****g problem,” he continued.

In this image taken from video provided by WSVN-TV, emergency personnel respond to the area where a small plane crashed on April 11. Picture: WSVN-TV via AP
In this image taken from video provided by WSVN-TV, emergency personnel respond to the area where a small plane crashed on April 11. Picture: WSVN-TV via AP

Kevin explained further, while emphasising the importance of pre-flight inspections: “The Rudder is one of the flight controls, it gives control of the yaw on an aeroplane. If this gets stuck to any direction it will turn the aeroplane into that direction.

“That explains the constant left turns and if that happens it’s almost impossible to control the aeroplane”.

The pilot of the plane had reported rudder issues shortly before the crash, a source told NBC News.

One person who was in a Toyota on the ground, 24-year-old Pablo Tafur, sustained non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

Originally published as Doomed plane’s final moments caught on video in Florida

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/doomed-planes-final-moments-caught-on-video-in-florida/news-story/a9e1fa15167de9b64e8051c7b54d80d3