Residents near small airport concerned about safety

LANTANA, Fla. - In the span of just a few days, the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, reports 11 small planes crashed over the weekend.

In South Bend, Indiana, two people died after a corporate jet went down on Sunday.

Most recently in South Florida, a small plane crashed on Friday killing all three on board.

Annually, 500 Americans die in small plane crashes each year. On average, there are five small plane crashes each day.

"Scary and to this day it's still scary," said Dennis Mhyre, who lives right across the street from the Lantana Airport.

In 2004, a plane tore right through Mhyre's yard after it went down shortly after leaving nearby Lantana Airport.  Two people died as a result of the crash and nine years later, Mhyre said is till bother him.

"Some of these planes come in very, very low and it reminds me all the time of what happened over there. And could it happen again?" questioned Mhyre.

According to the NTSB, small plane crashes are on the rise. In 2011, 1500 planes went down which resulted in more than 400 deaths, up 20% over the last decade.

"What risk do you face? You probably face just as much risk getting bit by a shark or getting hit by lightning," said David Bjellos, a pilot and flight expert.

Bjellos points to the fact that there are far more fatalities and wrecks on the roads each year in cars. He said it is still safe to live near a small airport and said the facilities were actually built before most houses.

Mhyre said while he still worries every time he hears the roar of a plane engine flying over his home, he understands there are risks no matter where a person lives.

"You see on the news where a guy drives into an ice cream shop and crashes through a window. So it's the old saying, it's going to happen when it happens," said Mhyre.

Investigators with NTSB said they suspect part of the reason behind the rise in small plane crashes is due to pilots not getting the proper training and pilots flying in poor conditions.