Mid-Air Collision Between Cherokee Piper 161 & Piper J-3 Club Seaplane Over Lake Hartridge Of Central Florida
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According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, four people died after two small planes, a Cherokee Piper 161 and a Piper J-3 Club seaplane, collided in air near a Central Florida lake on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Polk County Chief Steve Lester said, “It was an in-air collision and both planes immediately went into the water.” Winter Haven Police Department and Winter Haven Fire Department responded to Lake Hartridge at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, to begin search by water and air.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office identified three victims as: 24 year old flight instructor Faith Baker, 19 year old Polk State College student Zachary Mace, and 67 year old Randall Crawford from Pennsylvania. Deputies continue to work on confirming the identify of the fourth victim. According to investigators: Faith Baker and Zachary Mace were in the Cherokee Piper 161 plane operated by Sunrise Aviation/Polk State College; Randall Crawford was in the Piper J3 Club Seaplane operated by Jack Brown’s Seaplane Base. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said, “My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who were killed in today’s crash”
Caridad Fernandez, a resident living by the lake where the planes went down, said, “All of a sudden it was a giant boom. It really sounded like when a rocket goes off and hits the atmosphere. We pretty much saw everything hit the water.” It wasn’t long before law enforcement arrived at the lake. Caridad Fernandez continued, “There are kids on our lake. There are people who jet ski on our lake. That’s the lake I grew up on. That’s something where we would go tubing and everything else and now it’s kind of terrifying.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will investigate for the cause of the collision.
Two small planes collided near an airport in Winter Haven, Florida, prompting a large response from local first responders, and resulting in one person’s death. Officials provided an update on the search for survivors a few hours after the crash happened, in the video published on March 7, 2023, by FOX 13 Tampa Bay, as “Full press conference: 1 dead after 2 planes crash in Florida“, below:
4 dead after 2 planes collide near Central Florida lake, in the video published on March 7, 2023, by WESH 2 News, as “4 dead after 2 planes planes collide near Central Florida lake“, below
Four people have died after two small planes crashed into each other in the air Tuesday afternoon over Lake Hartridge, authorities say. It happened around 2 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to 10 Tampa Bay. Speaking during an earlier news conference, Polk County Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Steve Lester confirmed that at least one person died and it’s possible other lives were lost too, in the video published on March 7, 2023, by 10 Tampa Bay, as “4 people killed in aerial plane collision over Winter Haven lake“, below:
Two planes collide near Central Florida lake, in the video published on March 7, 2023, by WESH 2 News, as “Two planes collide near Central Florida lake“, below:
Rescue crews were called to Winter Haven Regional Airport Tuesday after two planes collided with each other, in the video published on March 7, 2023, by WFLA News Channel 8, as “2 planes collide near Winter Haven Regional Airport, police say“, below:
A Polk State College student and a flight instructor were among four killed after two small planes collided mid-air in Winter Haven Tuesday afternoon. The crash prompted a large response from local first responders, in the video published on March 7, 2023, by FOX 13 Tampa Bay, as “Four killed after small planes crash mid-air over Lake Hartridge“, below:
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
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