Cessna Crash Lands on Pompano Beach Street, Pilots Walk Away
What: ATA Flight School Cessna
Where: Pompano Beach Air Park
When: November 1, 2011 reported at 5:52 pm
Who: 2 aboard, 2 survivors
Why: A 27 year old instructor Vincent Paul Citrullo and 42 year old student pilot David Bakalar survived a crash at the intersection of Northeast 10th Street and Fifth Avenue in Pompano Beach Florida.
The crash occurred during a ATA Flight School (Pembroke Pines) training flight while the student pilot was flying and losing altitude due to engine trouble. The instructor took the controls, and the plane struck a palm tree and a concrete pole, landing shy of Pompano Beach Air Park. Both were taken to North Broward Medical Center.
Two fire trucks used foam on spilled fuel.
Pilot Vincent Paul Citrullo, a former C130 crew chief and vet, is credited with landing the plane after the throttle became inoperable, and securing their survival, in spite of the plane breaking in half.