A pilot walked away uninjured after he crash-landed the airplane he was flying in an open field at Elgin Boulevard and Barclay Avenue near the Powell Middle School in Spring Hill.
In a video statement from the scene, Sheriff Al Nienhuis said that on the morning of March 17 a pilot from Seminole left the St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport in an experimental two-seat QAC Quickie Q2 aircraft that he had built in the 1980s.
The man was flying near Crystal Springs when the plane began having technical difficulties.
“He (the pilot) tried to reach the (Brooksville) airport, but wasn’t able to,” Nienhuis said. “And the pilot did a great job not hitting any traffic or any buildings.”
The pilot who was the only occupant of the two-seat aircraft was uninjured.
“He was ambulatory (when deputies arrived on the scene) – he doesn’t appear to have any injuries at all,” Nienhuis said. “Unfortunately, the plane looks like it’s in pretty bad shape,”
No one on the ground was hurt in the incident. Students at the Powell Middle School were on spring break at the time.
