Florida
NTSB: Engine Oil Warnings Sounded Just Before Jet Crashed on Florida Interstate
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Moments before the deadly crash of a charter jet on a Florida highway, three warnings about oil pressure problems in its two engines sounded, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report Tuesday.
The Bombardier aircraft flying from Ohio with five people aboard was cleared to land at Naples Municipal Airport at 3:08 p.m. on Feb. 9, the report says. It was about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) north of the airport when what the NTSB called a “master warning” about oil pressure issues in the left engine took place.
Seconds later, another oil warning sounded for the right engine, followed by a third that simply said “ENGINE.” These warnings include lights and a voice advisory including chimes in the cockpit, according to the report.
At 3:10 p.m., the pilots announced they had “lost both engines” and were attempting to make an emergency landing on busy Interstate 75 in Naples, Florida. The control tower repeated the aircraft was cleared to land and one of the pilots responded, “We are cleared to land but we are not going to make the runway” because of the engine failures.
The aircraft did manage to crash-land along the highway but slammed into a concrete sound barrier and burst into flames, killing both pilots. The flight attendant scrambled to open a rear door and led the two passengers to safety with only minor injuries, the report says. No one was seriously injured on the ground.
Although there was some damage to the two engines, most of the components were recovered and no obvious problems that might have caused their failure were noted by NTSB investigators. A final report will be released in the coming months.
The aircraft was built in 2004 and had its most recent airworthiness inspection on Jan. 5. It had more than 9,700 total hours of flight operation, according to the NTSB.
The plane was operated by Hop-a-Jet Worldwide Charter based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It had flown from there to the Ohio State University airport in Columbus, picked up its two passengers and then headed to Naples.
The dead pilots were identified as Edward Daniel Murphy, 50, and Ian Frederick Hofmann, 65, who each had thousands of hours of flight experience, including time on the Bombardier-type of airplane. The survivors were crew member Sydney Ann Bosmans, 23, and passengers Aaron Baker, 35, and Audra Green, 23, both of Columbus.
Photo: An image provided by the Florida Department of Transportation, showing the scene after the plane crash. (Florida DOT/The News-Press via AP)
Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A Florida gunman allegedly hunted down a family on the road, firing into their SUV with a child inside in a miles-long road rage fueled pursuit.
Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office say they responded to a 911 call at 3:14 p.m. Wednesday near Highway 92 and Wiggins Road, where a man, later identified as 33-year-old Nicolas Totherow, was reportedly following a family in an SUV and firing at them.
According to an HCSO news release, the caller told dispatch that one of the four people in the vehicle was a child and stayed on the line as the situation unfolded. Investigators say Totherow continued following the family northbound on Park Road before both vehicles entered Interstate 4. He allegedly kept firing as the pursuit moved eastbound on I-4, ending when the victims exited at County Line Road.
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The victims were located shortly after and confirmed that their vehicle had been struck multiple times by gunfire, shattering the windshield, rear window, and even reporting that one bullet had gone through the seat where they child was located.
At 6 p.m., deputies say they located Totherow through investigative efforts, recovered his firearm, and took him in custody. During an interview, he allegedly admitted to firing multiple rounds at the victims’ vehicle and stated he intended to kill the driver.
Totherow was subsequently booked into Hillsborough County Jail for counts of:
- Attempted Murder in the First Degree Premeditated Firearm – Discharge
- Aggravated Battery Great Bodily Harm Firearm – Discharge (x4)
- Discharge Firearm from a Vehicle
- Shooting at Within or Into a Vehicle
- Armed Possession of Controlled Substance
- Driving While License Canceled, Suspended, or Revoked
“This reckless and violent behavior put multiple innocent lives at risk on our roadways,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “Thanks to the quick actions of our Communications Center and the coordinated response of our deputies and detectives, this suspect was taken into custody before anyone was killed. We will not tolerate violence in our community.”
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The investigation is ongoing, anyone with information is urged to contact HCSO at 813-247-8200.
Army Corps and St. Lucie County spent $15 million on placing new sand on Fort Pierce Jetty Park beach.
The Army Corps of Engineers and St. Lucie County are working on a new solution to fix Florida’s most-eroded beach.
Here are 5 things to know about the T-groin project:
- They plan to place a half-dozen T-groins at the Fort Pierce Jetty Park beach by 2030.
- T-groins are designed to reduce wave energy and trap sand, but the county did not cite any data or studies that prove they will work.
- The groins, which are typically like rock jetties, will run perpendicular from the dune line with the T part in the ocean.
- The Army Corps said the two biological opinions it received “resolved” the state’s environmental concerns about sea turtle nesting and other impacts, so the project is moving forward.
- The Army Corps and county plan to split the $900,000 cost.
Fixing Florida’s most-eroded beach in Fort Pierce
Fort Pierce Jetty Park costs taxpayers about $15 million every two years for beach restoration projects to replace lost sand, the Army Corps said during an April 28 ribbon-cutting ceremony for its latest effort. St. Lucie County officials hope the T-groins will reduce the need to add new sand to every four years instead of every two year.
Sand has been placed at the Jetty Park beach 14 times since 1971, said Joshua Revord, St. Lucie County Department of Port, Inlet & Beaches director.
The current project, expected to be complete by mid-May, is placing 400,000 cubic yards of sand on a one-mile stretch from the jetty south, according to Col. Brandon Bowman.
Tim O’Hara is TCPalm’s environment reporter. Contact him at tim.ohara@tcpalm.com.
Tallahassee State College’s District Board of Trustees is keeping three of its current members after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent reappointments.
TSC board chair and longtime member Eugene Lamb as well as trustees Karen Moore and Sara Bayliss will remain on the college’s board after being reappointed by the governor May 1.
At the same time, Moore was reappointed to the board by DeSantis less than five months ago in December 2025 during the same time of Bayliss’ initial appointment. Trustees are usually appointed to four-year terms at a time before being considered for reappointment. The timing of the reappointments is unclear, a TSC spokesperson said.
Moore’s reappointment comes after she has served as a trustee at TSC since 2007 when she was first appointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist followed by reappointments by former Gov. Rick Scott and DeSantis.
The CEO and founder of The Moore Agency currently serves as chair of the Florida College System Foundation Board of Directors and is a member of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She is also founder and chair at Tallahassee Collegiate Academy (TCA), which is the college’s STEM-based charter school on its campus.
Bayliss is a college admissions advisor at St. John Paul II Catholic High School in Tallahassee and a counselor at Game Plan College Admissions Counseling. The Florida State University alumna earned her bachelor’s degree in management information systems and French from the University of Iowa and her master’s degree in business administration from FSU.
Regarding Lamb’s reappointment, it comes as he is currently serving in his fifth non-consecutive term as chair of the board. Lamb, a Midway native and army veteran who had a 33-year career of working with youth as a teacher and coach, first joined the college’s board in 2007 after being appointed by Crist. Since then, he has been reappointed to five consecutive terms by Scott and DeSantis.
In addition, Lamb – who’s well known and celebrated by the TSC community for laying bricks for the first buildings on the college campus as a young man – was named Trustee of the Year in 2024 by the American Association of Community Colleges, which honored his leadership and service.
All reappointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.
Tarah Jean is the higher education reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat, a member of the USA TODAY Network – Florida. She can be reached at tjean@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @tarahjean_.
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