Authorities ID 3 killed in S Fla small-plane crash

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities have identified three men killed when their small plane crashed into a parking lot near a South Florida airport.

Fort Lauderdale Police spokeswoman DeAnna Garcia said Saturday that the crash killed Steven Waller of Deerfield Beach, Wallis Watson of Boca Raton and Kevin Watson of Pompano Beach. Waller was the pilot.

Authorities said the twin-engine Piper Cheyenne propeller plane began experiencing engine trouble and tried to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. The crash Friday afternoon set about a dozen vehicles ablaze, but no one on the ground was hurt.

The airport serves smaller planes rather than the larger commercial flights at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Garcia said police were working with Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board investigators.