LAKELAND, FL — A young man died Monday evening after an experimental aircraft crashed in a remote area near Moore Road in north Lakeland.
According to Sheriff Grady Judd, the crash occurred shortly before 8 p.m. while two pilots were flying separate aircraft in formation over a rural portion of Polk County. The victim had departed from Bartow, while the second pilot took off from Lakeland.
The surviving pilot reported seeing the aircraft come apart, or a portion of it separate in flight, before it rapidly descended into a wooded area west of Moore Road. The pilot immediately called 911 and directed emergency responders to the crash site.
Deputies, Polk County Fire Rescue personnel, and other emergency crews responded to the scene and located the wreckage in a heavily wooded area. The pilot of the aircraft was pronounced deceased.
Independent witnesses who spoke with Eye In The Sky News said the two aircraft appeared to be flying in close proximity while performing aggressive aerial maneuvers prior to the crash. Those witness accounts have not been confirmed by investigators.
Authorities said the aircraft involved was a single-seat experimental airplane. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is conducting the death investigation while the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will investigate the cause of the crash. The victim’s identity has not yet been released. Nothing further at this time.
SOURCE: POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S GRADY JUDD
