# Rudder issue precedes fatal Boca Raton plane crash near airport
*Event date: 2025-04-11*
A small aircraft crash near Boca Raton Airport on Friday killed all three people aboard and injured one person on the ground, according to NBC News. The plane was a Cessna 310 that had left Boca Raton Airport and was headed for Tallahassee International Airport when it went down near Military Trail and the Glades Road overpass around 10:20 a.m. ET.
The victims were identified by the Boca Raton Police Services Department as Robert Stark, 81; Stephen Stark, 54; and Brooke Stark, 17. NBC News also reported that a 24-year-old driver, Pablo Tafur, was hurt on the ground after his Toyota was caught up in the fire and chaos that followed the crash. Officials said his injuries were non-life-threatening. The report says the aircraft burst into flames after impact, and video from the scene showed debris scattered across the roadway and train tracks.
Witnesses gave a picture of an airplane that looked wrong before it fell. A flight student told NBC South Florida that the plane appeared to be flying “too fast and too low,” then seemed to circle before turning back toward the airport. Another source with knowledge of the situation said the pilot had reported rudder issues shortly before the crash. That is not a final cause, but it does show the crew may have been dealing with trouble in the air before the fatal descent.
Police closed the area of Military Trail and Glades Road while responders worked the scene. The Boca Raton airport briefly shut down, and officials said road closures would remain in place through the weekend. Mayor Scott Singer said the city was heartbroken. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating, which means the public explanation for the crash was still to come.
The report also says Tafur’s car lost control in the fire and struck a tree, illustrating how a single aircraft accident can quickly turn into a wider roadway emergency. In a busy part of town, the crash did not just end a flight; it forced airport operations, traffic flow and emergency response into the same scene. For investigators, the central questions are likely to be why the plane came down after departure and whether the rudder problem reported before impact was a warning sign or part of a larger mechanical chain.
That combination of fatalities, a ground injury and a closed road made the Boca Raton crash one of the more severe aviation accidents in the area in recent years. The available report gives a detailed immediate account, but the formal cause will depend on federal investigation, wreckage review and whatever data can be recovered from the aircraft.
The crash sits at the intersection of aviation and roadway safety, which is why the debris field mattered as much as the impact itself. When an aircraft fire spills onto a surface street, investigators have to reconstruct two scenes at once: what happened in the cockpit and what happened to anyone caught below. That dual inquiry is now the burden of federal investigators, local police and airport officials.
