The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on the October 17 crash of a small plane into a Miramar home that killed both people on board.
Witnesses told the NTSB that on the day of the crash, the flight instructor - identified as 34-year-old Anthony Yen - and the student pilot identified as 32-year-old Jordan Hall went to the hanger at North Perry Airport and asked for a screwdriver. The two told witnesses that they were having problems with the plane in the days preceding the crash.
A representative of the airframe manufacturer told investigators Yen had contacted him days before the accident and said he was having an issue with the engine control unit, which resulted in a loss of power during a flight.
The representative told investigators that on the day of the crash he thought Yen and Hall were still troubleshooting the engine problems.
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The small plane went down in the 2200 block of Jamaica Drive, Miramar Police officials said. The plane had just taken off from nearby North Perry Airport when it went down in a neighborhood around 11:40 a.m.
The plane appeared to have hit some power lines and clipped the roof of another home as it went down. No one who was on the ground or in the home was injured.
“Our hearts remain broken by the loss of our son, brother and partner. As well as the loss of a young pilot instructor," said Brian Hall, Jordan Hall's father. "We’ll be interested in the final NTSB analysis, which is two years away, but nothing will bring back the two young lives. Our focus remains on celebrating and honoring all the wonderful ways Jordan lived, the people he helped and the memories we shared!”
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Manyereni Moreno, who was in a home with her 2-year-old child when the plane crashed into it, said she heard the impact on her roof while playing with her child.
“I was in my bedroom with my baby and I just heard a big noise. I thought it was a transformer but I grabbed the baby and ran out and then from outside I saw the airplane on top of my house. It was really scary," Moreno said. "I was born today again. I would have died right there with my baby. I’m glad that we’re alive."
Moreno can be heard asking for help in a 911 call released by police.
“An airplane just fell on top of my house, can you send someone really quick?" she told a 911 operator. “I was there with my baby and I got out."
In another 911 call, a concerned resident reported the plane down.
"Hi, an airplane just fell right here near to my house," a woman told a 911 operator.
A total of 14 crashes have taken place after takeoff from North Perry Airport in the last five years, with the most recent one coming in March 2021 when a plane crash involving a car killed two people.
"When the airport was initially built with North Perry during the 40s, there’s nobody around," said a woman named Elaine who lives in the neighborhood. "I don’t know what needs to be done, but something has to be because this is happening too frequently."
