The City of Boca Raton has released the 911 calls made in the minutes before and after a small plane crashed onto the Tri-Rail tracks on Military Trail near I-95 last week.
One of the first calls to the emergency line on Friday, April 11, was from the Boca Raton Airport Authority.
They informed the operator that they had an aircraft in the air in distress and was wondering if they could dispatch fire rescue. The emergency operator informed the caller that they had already been alerted by the control tower and fire rescue was enroute.
The 911 emergency center also received calls from people in the area about the plane.
“I know this is a really strange call, but has anyone else called in about this plane that is flying very low,” a caller said.
“Ma’am, they are having issues, we’re aware,” replied the operator.
Callers frantic after seeing plane crash near I-95
Moments later, the Cessna 310 carrying three people, which had departed the Boca Raton Airport and was bound for Tallahassee International Airport, crashed, killing the three family members onboard. They have been identified as 81-year-old Robert Stark, 54-year-old Stephen Stark and 17-year-old Brooke Stark. A person on the ground was also injured.
Callers to 911 then described what they saw.
“911, what is your emergency,” the operator asked.
“Hi, I’m at the Houston’s on Military (Trail) at Glades and something just dropped from the sky and there’s a big accident,” she said.
“Yes, we’re aware, it’s a plane accident, just stay away from the area,” the operator told the woman.
And in another call.
“911, what is your emergency,” the operator asked.
“We’re on Military and,,,” the caller said.
“Yep, there was a plane crash are you calling about that,” the operator asked.
“Oh my God we saw it go down,” the caller said.
“I just saw something giant explode,” a third caller said.
Cause of the crash is under investigation
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.
Both Robert and Stephen Stark were certified pilots with the Federal Aviation Administration, according to Boca police.
According to a police statement, Stephen Stark was issued a private pilot certificate in 2011. He had single-engine and multi-engine aircraft ratings, FAA records show.
Robert Stark’s private pilot certificate was issued in 2018 and had single-engine land and sea ratings, as well as multi-engine land and instrument ratings, police said.
