Authorities in southwest Florida have identified the five people who were onboard the jet that crashed on Interstate 75 near Naples Friday.
Pilot Edward Daniel Murphy and second in command Ian Frederick Hofmann died in the wreck, Collier County Sheriff's Office officials said. Crew member Sydney Ann Bosmans and passengers Aaron Baker and Audra Green survived.
Cell phone video provided by witness Kyle Cavaliere shows the crew member and passengers running away from the jet.
"Anytime you've seen anything on movies, it doesn't hold a candle to what you actually feel and see at that moment,” Cavalierre said.
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Hofmann’s son Christopher sent NBC6 a statement on his father's passing.
“The family is in shock and devastated but want to express our thanks for the heartfelt support we have received," he stated. "We know our father died a hero doing his best to save everyone he could on the plane. We ask for prayers during this difficult time.”
Hofmann had over 40 years and 25,000 hours of experience at Piedmont, USAirways, Virgin America and Hop-A-Jet. His son described him as a loving father and family man who was charismatic and beloved.
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The National Transportation Safety Board said the pilot called air traffic control moments before crashing to report that the jet had a dual engine failure.
The jet, a Bombardier Challenger 604 took off from Ohio Friday and was scheduled to land in Naples.
NBC6 spoke with Robert Clifford, an aviation attorney who handled the case the last time a Bombardier Challenger jet crashed in Colorado, in 2004. He said right now, it's too early to speculate what happened.
"Could it be a fuel problem, contaminated fuel, could there be switches that turned something off that were defective, could there be maintenance issues?" Clifford said. “It is a very sad thing for everyone involved.”
A NTSB investigator was at the crash site and more will show up Sunday. They will look at everything from flight track data, maintenance records and the pilot's flight experience.
Hofmann’s family created a GoFundMe page.
