CORAL SPRINGS — A father and daughter on a humanitarian mission were killed Monday when their small Beechcraft King Air plane, carrying relief supplies for victims of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, crashed into a pond in a gated South Florida neighborhood shortly after takeoff, authorities said.
The victims were identified as Alexander Wurm, 53, founder of the Cayman Islands-based Christian ministry Ignite the Fire, and his 22-year-old daughter, Serena Wurm, according to family statements and ministry associates.
The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air turboprop, manufactured in 1976, took off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport around 10:14 a.m. and went down about five minutes later in Coral Springs, narrowly missing homes but scattering debris and spilling fuel into a nearby backyard, witnesses and officials said.
No one on the ground was injured, but the crash damaged a fence, toppled palm trees, and contaminated a resident’s pool with aviation fuel, according to homeowner Kenneth DeTrolio, who told local media he heard a strange sound as the plane flew low between his house and a neighbor’s before plunging into the water.
Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department crews shifted from rescue to recovery after divers failed to initially locate victims in the submerged wreckage, Deputy Chief Mike Moser said.
The plane was en route to Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica, loaded with medical supplies, water filters, roofing materials, and other aid for communities devastated by the Category 5 hurricane that made landfall Oct. 28, ministry officials said.
Wurm, an experienced pilot who had recently purchased the aircraft for relief efforts, had made multiple flights to Jamaica in the preceding week, according to flight records.
The registered owner was listed as International Air Services, a company that provides FAA registration trusts for non-U.S. citizens, according to federal records.
Sean Malone, director of partner organization Crisis Relief International, praised Wurm in a statement for his immediate response to the disaster, saying he “sprang into action and did what he could with what he had in his hand.” Ferrin Cole, the group’s team leader in Jamaica, added that Wurm repeatedly delivered essential supplies and offered support, noting, “He just kept landing and we would unload his plane – he would give us these huge hugs and pray for us.”
Ignite the Fire described Serena Wurm on social media as “a beacon of empathy and hope, inspiring all with her commitment to humanitarian work.” The family, based in the Cayman Islands, includes Wurm’s wife, Candace, son James, 17, and daughter Christiana, 20.
Federal aviation officials are investigating the cause of the crash, with police maintaining a presence in the area through Tuesday for evidence collection.
Hurricane Melissa was one of the strongest Atlantic storms on record. It ripped roofs off of 120,000 structures in Jamaica and displaced thousands, prompting widespread relief efforts.
