A parachute likely saved the life of a North Carolina pilot when his small plane made a hard landing Tuesday morning behind a home in Palatka, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The pilot, 64-year-old David Ross Thomas, of Apex, North Carolina, was flying from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Sarasota, Florida, in his Cirrus SR22 when he radioed an airport in Jacksonville to request an emergency landing after experiencing engine trouble, troopers said.
Thomas continued south and tried to land at Kay Larkin airport in Palatka, but he didn't make it that far and had to deploy his parachute, troopers said.
He went down just after 11 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Oleander Drive and Dogwood Lane.
The plane landed a few feet from a home and a camper and clipped the power lines.
The homeowner, Richard Jackson, said he ran over to help Thomas out of the plane and that the pilot was not bleeding, but was in a lot of pain. Jackson's wife called 911.
“When he left here, he was hurting pretty bad, but he is alive. That's the blessing of it all,” Jackson said.
Thomas was taken to Putnam Community Hospital with minor injuries. Troopers said the parachute, which was left hanging on power lines on the property, likely saved Thomas' life by slowing the plane down as it fell from the sky.
Florida Power and Light cut power to the lines so the parachute can be removed.
“I actually heard the explosion and the parachute come out,” Jackson said. “I looked up and saw the airplane coming down on the parachute.”
Jackson said he was on his back porch when the plane came down.
“The first thing I thought to myself was, 'Oh no, that is in my backyard,'” Jackson said.
The plane missed his home and only clipped his fence.
Witnesses said they couldn't believe Thomas walked away from the crash.
“He is one lucky pilot,” Jack Norwood said. “I heard an engine not running well, and I looked up, and he was just a little bit better than treetop high and heading down.”
Jackson said he can easily repair his fence, and he's thankful no one was killed.
“He didn't hit any houses, nobody, everything turned out good,” Jackson said.
The plane was still in the backyard Tuesday afternoon. Whoever moves it will have to drain all the fuel for safety.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the hard landing.
The plane is a 2002 model that Thomas bought in 2010. Several other pilots owned the plane before him. There were no records of any previous problems with the plane.