BARTOW, Fla. (CBSNews) — Four people died Sunday (Dec. 24) in a plane crash at Bartow Municipal Airport in Florida, CBS Tampa affiliate WTSP reports.
The plane that crashed was a twin-engine plane, police said in a tweet. It crashed near the end of a runway.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said a plane attempted to takeoff from the airport at about 7:15 a.m. “I have reviewed some footage, and clearly no one should have tried a takeoff from this airport at 7:15 this morning. The airport was totally socked in with fog,” Judd said.
“This aircraft attempted to takeoff from the south to the north on the main runway, and for reasons unknown, crashed at the north end of the airport, not far from our aviation hangar.”
“We know upon impact that there was a huge fire,” Judd said.
The NTSB and FAA were tasked with investigating what caused the crash, WTSP-TV reported.
“It’s a tragedy any day of the week,” Judd said. “It is a worse tragedy on Christmas Eve. It’s just manifested by the time of the year and the holidays when our families are growing closer together. That’s what I tell everyone: hug your children today and your grandchildren a little tighter, and say prayers for the family of these folks on the airplane.”
