The two people who died aboard the plane that crashed in a Coral Springs lake on Monday have been identified as the founder of a Christian ministry and his 22-year-old daughter.
Alexander Wurm, 53, and his daughter Serena, 22, were taking humanitarian aid to Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa when their plane plummeted into the lake tucked between houses in the gated community of Windsor Bay.
Wurm was the founder of Ignite the Fire, an evangelical Christian ministry that conducts missions across the Caribbean. The organization identified him and his daughter as the victims of the crash on social media late Monday.
“Alexander, known for his warmth and unwavering kindness, devoted his life to serving others — both through his actions and by sharing the gospel of Jesus across the globe,” the organization said in a post. ” … Serena, following in her father’s footsteps, was a beacon of empathy and hope, inspiring all with her commitment to humanitarian work. Together, their final journey embodied selflessness and courage, reminding us of the power of service and love.”
The 1976 Beech B100 aircraft, an 11-seat, multi-engine plane, took off shortly after 10 a.m. from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport and was scheduled to land at Montego Bay International Airport shortly after 12:30 p.m. Monday, according to FlightAware.
It came down in the Windsor Bay neighborhood in the 5000 block of Northwest 57th Way minutes later, ripping through one resident’s yard and fence and then crashing into the water, officials and residents told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Witnesses told dispatchers the plane had been flying dangerously low.
The force of impact sent plumes of water shooting into the air and created waves that spilled into backyards, home surveillance video shared with the Sun Sentinel by one resident showed.
A screenshot from Windsor Bay resident Herman Schnell’s home surveillance camera shows the moment a Beechcraft King Air 100 crashed into a lake in Coral Springs on Monday. (Herman Schnell/Courtesy)
The same plane had traveled to and from Montego Bay and George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands, within the last week. It arrived at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport on Friday afternoon, FlightAware tracking data shows.
Posts by Wurm on social media in recent days suggested the evangelist had recently acquired the plane, which he described as “an older King Air with brand new engines”
“It’s a perfect missions aircraft,” he wrote. “It can carry a lot and it is a very reliable aircraft.”
Last week, Wurm shared a post that said the plane had successfully landed in Jamaica with supplies, including generators, screws, tarps, battery packs, and StarLink communication systems.
Local organizations as well as city and county governments in South Florida have been accepting donations and supplies for those impacted by Hurricane Melissa’s landfall in Jamaica on Oct. 28.
Wurm was working with Crisis Response International, an organization based out of Virginia, to deliver supplies. He was flying at his own expense, the group’s CEO, Sean Malone, said in a video posted to social media. Wurm had delivered medical supplies, water filters and screws in a previous flight and was hoping to deliver more StarLink kits.
“He saved lives, and he gave his life for the people and the nations that were on his heart,” Malone said.
First responders and law enforcement remained at the scene of the Coral Springs community Tuesday morning, working through the night to retrieve debris and locate the bodies. Equipment was on its way to aid in the recovery, Mike Moser, deputy chief of Coral Springs Fire Rescue, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Tuesday.
Street crews have cleared debris that was in the road, the city said in a news release Tuesday afternoon, and Public Works teams “are assisting with environmental cleanup of the impacted area within Windsor Bay.”
All roads in the area are open, but access to the community is “limited,” the city said.
Dawn Marill’s house borders the lake where the plane went down. By about 3 p.m. Tuesday, officials had managed to pull big chunks of the plane out of the water, she said, though there was no indication that bodies had been recovered. Workers were filling buckets with plane parts and debris that was still covering people’s roofs. Several cars and at least 50 to 70 officials remained in the neighborhood.
When the plane crashed Monday, Marill said she ran down the street towards the sound with several neighbors. She never saw the plane, just debris everywhere and a smell of gas so pungent “you almost wanted to puke.” By Tuesday, Marill said she was too sad to look anymore.
“They died right behind my house,” she said. “… With a tiny little shift, it could’ve been any of our houses.”
Elizabeth Schnell, 21, whose home also borders the lake, said officials had been at work in the community all night and had mostly cleaned up the debris by Tuesday, except for what appeared to be blood stains in some places. The force of the crash had sent debris as far as a football field away, she said. When she ran to the lake immediately after the crash, it was full of blue tarps, which she surmised might have been for people’s roofs in Jamaica.
The neighborhood felt like a “dead zone” Tuesday, Schnell said, as the reality of what had happened set in.
“I could have died yesterday,” she said. “It’s weird how everyone’s lives just keep going. I ask people, ‘oh, did you hear about the crash?’ It’s like ‘no, I didn’t hear about it.’”
Spokespeople referred all questions about the crash to the National Transportation Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. Spokespeople for those agencies did not return emails seeking comment. The NTSB said it was investigating the crash in a post on X Monday.
Any residents who find pieces should contact the Coral Springs Police Department, Moser said.
The registered owner of the plane is listed as International Air Service Inc. Trustee, a company in Nevada, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. A representative of the company declined to speak with a reporter when reached by phone Monday afternoon.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.