One of the two pilots who tragically lost his life after a burning aircraft slammed onto a Florida interstate spent his last moments "trying to save passengers," according to family.
A tragedy occurred on Friday (February 9) afternoon at approximately 3:15PM after a plane carrying five people from Ohio State University's airport crashed into a vehicle on the southbound lanes of Interstate 75, near mile marker 107 in Collier County.
The aircraft - identified as a Bombardier Challenger 600 jet - departed from Columbus, Ohio, and was on its way to the Naples Airport before scheduled departure to Fort Lauderdale.
Dashcam footage of the horrifying incident shows the private jet getting lower above the cars driving on Interstate 75. With both engines malfunctioning, the plane was unable to make it and ended up colliding next to the road before huge plumes of smoke erupted from the wreckage.
Watch the harrowing moment below:The clip was captured by Miami trucker Alfonso del Nodal, who told NBC Miami: "I was wondering, 'What is that?' Then I realized it was a plane coming down, and then in a matter of seconds, it crashed."
Cars could be seen braking as they realized the horror unfolding in front of them, and del Nodal said he pulled over and tried to help. He told the publication: "But an explosion came and first thing that came to my mind was 9/11. Then we heard, 'Bam! Bam!' and I saw three people get out."
Local resident Garrett Elsinger also spoke about the moment he and his son heard an explosion and saw flames emerging to NBC6, sharing: "Within a few seconds, we were getting closer, and we're like, wait a minute - that's not a car, that's a plane."
"Thick, black smoke is billowing up and as we're getting closer, I'm like, that's not a small Cessna plane that you read about that came and landed on the highway, that's a jet - that's a big passenger plane," he added.
Captain Edward Daniel Murphy, 50, and co-pilot Ian Frederick Hoffman, 65, were killed in the collision, the Collier County Sheriff's Office confirmed.
A final distress call from one of the pilots was obtained by Fox News and it reveals them telling air traffic control that he had "lost both engines" and that the jet wasn’t going to make it to the airport moments before it slammed into the roadway.
"Okay, Challenger, Hop-A-Jet 823, lost both engines, emergency. I'm making an emergency landing," the pilot calmly said. After an airport controller told the pilot that a runway was free to land, the pilot tragically informed them: "We're clear to land but we're not gonna make the runway. We've lost both engines."
Furthermore, a terrifying video shared with Local 10 News shows the moment three survivors named Sydney Ann Bosmans, 23, and passengers Aaron Baker, 35, and Audra Green, 23, sprinted out of the wreckage, which was covered in bright orange flames and black smoke.
"Is there anybody else in there?" a good samaritan named Kyle Cavaliere can be heard shouting at the survivors. "Yes! Our pilots! Our pilots!" a woman can be heard responding.
When asked if the pilots were alive, the frantic woman replied: "I don’t know. I don’t know much else."
Hoffman's son Chris set up a GoFundMe, and revealed in the description that his late father spent his last moments "calmly speaking with ATC as he tried to save the passengers and crew in the face of a desperate emergency".
Chris described him as "the ultimate professional pilot with over 40 years and 25,000 hours of experience," as well as "a loving father and family man who was charismatic and beloved." As of this writing, $32,733 has been raised of the $35,000 target.
Murphy, the second pilot involved in the crash, was also "dedicated to his work" and "lived his life doing what made him happy every day," a family member heartwarmingly told WFTX-TV.
The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the crash.
Our thoughts continue to be with the families of both victims.