‘Flying down, nose-diving’: Witness accounts moments before small plane crashes in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two people are dead after a single-engine plane crashed in Jacksonville’s Westside Sunday just after 11 a.m.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says the plane took off from the Herlong Recreational Airport, was in the air for around 20 minutes, and crashed in a nearby field behind houses off Parrish Cemetery Road.

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Kevin Williams shared video with Action News Jax that shows the plane in the field, engulfed in flames, moments after it crashed behind his home.

A family member staying with Williams rushed out to take video of the aftermath.

JSO says the two people on board the aircraft did not survive.

Williams — a Navy service member with military medical training — heard the crash and ran outside to help.

”The plane was totally engulfed in flames, and there was really nothing we could do,” Williams recalled.

Daniel Henriquez was at Williams’ house and watched as the plane went down moments earlier.

”A plane came from over there, came around, and it went over there, flying down, nose-diving,” he explained.

JSO, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. Investigators spent most of Sunday interviewing witnesses to learn what led to the crash.

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”As it went into the ground, it impacted, and then it drifted, like it turned around from that way, drifted this way. And then there was the explosion,” Henriquez added.

Williams wishes he could’ve done more.

”Right after Christmas, you don’t want to see that. My heart goes out to the family,” Williams said.

Action News Jax is working to learn from investigators who the two victims were. Check back for updates.

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