A veteran pilot died after he lost control of his cargo plane Monday and it tumbled to the ground, landing in an Opa-locka yard and exploding into flames.
The crash happened about 8:15 a.m. The plane, a 1957 Beechcraft, had just taken off from Opa-locka Airport for the Bahamas, carrying computer parts, Tupperware and other household items.
But the craft made it only a few hundred feet.
Authorities said the pilot called the Opa-locka tower at 8:11 a.m., saying he was having engine problems and was “going down.” His plane plowed into trees, a fence and two vehicles before landing in the yard of a house in the 15700 block of Northwest 37th Court.
The one person in the house was not injured, authorities said, although the home was left with smoke damage.
