(Reuters) -A small jet plane crashed onto a busy Florida interstate highway on Friday and caught fire after colliding with a vehicle, killing at least two people, according to authorities and footage from the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane, seen in videos and photos engulfed in flames and thick smoke, was a Bombardier (OTC:) Challenger 600 business jet with five people on board.
The plane was landing in the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 in Collier County near Naples, a city on the southern Gulf Coast, when it collided with a vehicle, according to a statement from the Florida Highway Patrol.
At least two people died in the crash, but it was not immediately known whether they were in the plane or the vehicle that was struck, said Adam Fisher, a spokesman for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.
Local media reported that the plane had taken off from Columbus, Ohio, and its pilot was trying to land at the Naples airport.
Television station WPLG said the pilot was heard on an air traffic control audio recording telling the Naples control tower that the plane had lost both engines and was unable to reach the airport.