NTSB report documents final moments before fatal Coral Springs plane crash
A preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday documents the final moments of a missionary father and daughter’s doomed journey to deliver Hurricane Melissa relief to Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Alexander Wurm, 54 and his 22-year-old daughter, Serena Wurm, died when their plane crashed in Coral Springs, Florida, on Nov. 10.
The report’s narrative begins at 9:13 a.m., when a local church group arrived at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport and began loading supplies, including a generator, boxes of electric tools, screws and flashlights into Alex Wurm’s 1976 Beechcraft King Air B100.
According to the NTSB document, Wurm purchased the airplane in February 2024. That year, it underwent an interior furnishings and electronic equipment upgrade. Among the devices added were two Garmin touchscreen navigation systems, an attitude indicator, transponder and autopilot system.
He had already taken the aircraft to Jamaica since the upgrade, carrying similar cargo to the island as recently as a week before the final flight.
The group loaded boxes through the rear door and Wurm arranged them in the cabin, investigators said. The generator was stored in the baggage compartment and secured to the airframe with webbing.
Wurm did not personally weigh the items, but the report says he checked the weight documented on each box before placing them in the aircraft. Once he determined that the plane had reached its weight capacity, the report says it was decided the rest of the items could go on another flight .
“Review of a photo taken after completion showed that the center aisle of the cabin was clear and that the cargo was loaded unsecured throughout the cabin on passenger seats,” the report reads.
“Usually, if you have some kind of cargo, you’ll have it strapped in somehow, because if you turn sharply, things move around,” Dick Knapinski, Director of Communications for the Experimental Aircraft Association, told the Coral Springs News Dec. 3.
While at this time no one can say for certain what happened, this fact adds a degree of risk to the flight.
“[Shifting cargo] would change how the airplane flies,” he said. “If that were to occur, it could be it could be inconvenience, or could be catastrophic.”
Preliminary data shows that the plane departed at 10:14 a.m. with a full tank of gas. Takeoff and climbing lasted roughly three and a half minutes, with what appeared to be some mild but normal turbulence. A cold front was passing through the area at the time.
Air traffic controllers instructed Wurm to turn to the right, which he acknowledged. But, shortly afterwards, the plane began to descend at a considerable speed.
Wurm stopped responding to controllers. Heavy breathing and “grunting” sounds could then be heard, the report says.
Security cameras surrounding the Windsor Bay neighborhood pond caught the plane’s final seconds, showing the plane’s engines were operating and did not appear to be giving off smoke or other abnormal vapor trails.
The plane collided with the water at a 45-degree angle and was “heavily fragmented on impact,” the report says.
A 911 caller told a dispatcher no one could have made it out.
Knapinski said that until the NTSB releases more information, outsiders only have a few facts and can’t say for certain what caused the accident. The investigation is ongoing, and will likely continue into mid- to late-2026.
Alexander Wurm founded Ignite the Fire Ministry, which focuses on missionary work and Christian evangelism in the Caribbean.
“Together, their final journey embodied selflessness and courage, reminding us of the power of service and love,” the organization shared in a statement.
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 7:15 PM.
