ALACHUA COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – UPDATE 11/15 8:10 p.m.: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says an investigator arrived Wednesday to begin investigating the cause of the plane that in Paynes Prairie on Tuesday.
The NTSB says the on-scene investigation involves documenting the scene and examining the aircraft. A spokesperson says the aircraft will be moved on Thursday to a secure facility for further evaluation.
The NTSB says its investigation involve three primary areas:
- the pilot
- the aircraft
- the operating environment
As part of this process, the NTSB says its investigators will gather the following:
- Flight track data
- Recordings of any air traffic control communications
- Aircraft maintenance records
- Weather forecasts and actual weather and lighting conditions around the time of the accident
- Pilot’s license, ratings and recency of flight experience
- 72-hour background of the pilot to determine if there were any issues that could have affected the pilot’s ability to safety operate the flight
- Witness statements
- Electronic devices that could contain information relevant to the investigation
- Any available surveillance video, including from doorbell cameras
UPDATE: 11/15 7:41 a.m.: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed that the pilot of a small, single-engine plane that crashed in Paynes Prairie on Tuesday died in the crash.
None of the agencies involved in investigating the crash have confirmed the identity of the pilot.
Based on the tail number provided by the FAA, 352today has confirmed the Piper PA-28-180 plane is registered to David Nicholls from Carlisle, Iowa. That does not mean Nicholls was on board the aircraft when it went down.
The early report from the FAA says the aircraft “crashed under unknown circumstances.” The NTSB says the “pilot reported flight control malfunction.”
ORIGINAL: 11/14: The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) says a small, single-engine plane crashed this afternoon, Tuesday, Nov. 14.
ACSO says they first started receiving reports at 2:12 p.m. from Micanopy residents of a plane in trouble in the area of the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park.
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Deputies responded and started searching from the roadway. Crews from Alachua County Fire Rescue and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office also joined in the search.
Due to the rainy conditions, ACSO says they were unable to use air support to aid in the search. It had to be done all on foot.
An ACSO spokesman says the search crews found the downed plane around 5:45 p.m. in a dense, brushy area of the preserve.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says only a pilot was on board. Neither the FAA nor ACSO would confirm the condition of the pilot. ACSO would only say that they did not treat anyone at the scene, and no one was transported to the hospital. No one would confirm if the pilot had died.
The FAA says the plane was a single-engine Piper PA-28.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are both investigating the crash. The NTSB says the preliminary information they have is the “pilot reported flight control malfunction.”
NTSB is investigating the crash of a Piper PA-28 airplane in Micanopy, Florida.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) November 15, 2023
This is a developing story. 352today is working to confirm the identity of the pilot, where the plane took off from and where it was headed, among other details. Please check back frequently for updates.