TAMPA, FL (TIP): Indian American Jemin Patel tragically lost his life, along with two others, when the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35 he was piloting crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida, last Thursday, February 2.
The victims of the devastating crash included Patel, aged 54, and two women who were inside one of the mobile homes at the time of the accident. Clearwater officials identified the two women as Martha Parry, an 86-year-old resident of the mobile home park, and Mary Ellen Pender, aged 54, according to the local media.
Following the crash, which occurred around 7 pm, a fire engulfed four mobile homes within the park. It was reported that Patel had notified authorities of an engine failure shortly before the plane descended and crashed into the mobile home park. This tragic incident serves as a somber reminder of the unpredictable nature of aviation accidents and their far-reaching consequences.
The ill-fated aircraft had departed earlier that day from Vero Beach Regional Airport, located approximately 34 miles from Melbourne Beach. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aircraft registry records, the plane is registered to Control Data Inc. of Indianapolis.
The FAA reported that Patel, who was the sole person on board, had communicated an engine failure. Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the crash, with the NTSB taking the lead and providing any updates.
The Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department, the first agency to respond to the incident, stated on the X platform that they received the crash call at 7:08 PM that evening, and their officers arrived at the scene by 7:15 PM.
Patel, a licensed pilot, was described as “a well-known and trusted figure in the skies above Melbourne Beach” in an obituary featured on a website.