Just-released 911 calls captured the desperate moments after a small plane crashed in a Pembroke Pines neighborhood Sunday evening, as neighbors rushed into action.
They came armed with sledgehammers, axes and hoses to save a family of four trapped inside the burning aircraft.
“The propeller was in my yard. It was a shock,” said Torres Jordan, one of the first to respond. “I’m a read and react guy. We came together and reacted quick.”
In one call, a neighbor reports the plane is on fire. In the background, the repeated sound of metal being struck by a sledgehammer echoes as good Samaritans work to free the passengers.
Rescuers smash windows to reach trapped mom
Residents, including an off-duty first responder, broke windows and pulled the pilot and his two daughters from the Cessna before realizing the mother was pinned inside.
“He came with an axe, breaking the windows. So, we took the father out first, the two daughters peeked their heads out of the seat, and we had to break the bottom half of the cockpit because the mom was on the bottom, trapped in,” said neighbor Eddy Crispin.
“The neighbor from across the street had a fire extinguisher trying to put the fire out. My neighbor where the plane actually crashed, he had a water hose and was hosing the plane down.”
According to police, Fanely Maurette Diaz, the pilot’s wife, was pinned and extracted by neighbors using tools.
Flight lost power before crash, no Mayday Issued
Pembroke Pines police said pilot Carlos Balza Cardenas told officers he was returning from a family trip to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, with refueling stops in Puerto Rico.
As he approached North Perry Airport, he reported losing thrust after lowering the landing gear. No mayday call was received, and air traffic control lost contact with the plane about eight miles from the airport.
Another pilot later radioed in to report the crash. The flight had originated in the Dominican Republic and passed through the Turks and Caicos before reaching South Florida.
The National Transportation Safety Board has taken the wreckage to Jacksonville for investigation.
Mayor, commissioner demand change after series of crashes
Sunday’s crash is the latest in a troubling pattern of aviation accidents linked to North Perry Airport. Pembroke Pines Mayor Angelo Castillo is calling for immediate changes.
“This is a community that has suffered,” Castillo said. “These residents are constantly fearing that in the middle of the night some plane is going to knock into their homes or create a problem on the main road.” He is also pushing for a study of lead levels in the neighborhood.
Broward Commissioner Alexandra Davis echoed the urgency.
“We are looking at leasing agreements,” Davis said. “Fewer vendors could mean fewer accidents.”
Long history of crashes near North Perry Airport
The airport, which has operated since 1943, has seen multiple crashes in recent years.
In 2021, a 4-year-old boy was killed when a plane hit his mother’s car. In 2022, a plane from the airport crashed into a home in Miramar.
From 2020 to 2024, officials reported 14 accidents and 20 incidents tied to North Perry.
Despite this record, Broward’s aviation department says the airport has earned a perfect safety inspection score from the state for the past 25 years.
contributed to this report.
