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Pilot hurt after small plane crashes in backyard of Nassau County home, authorities say

Sheriff’s Office: Pilot taken to hospital ‘out of precaution’

The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office shared this photo of a small aircraft that crashed Wednesday in the backyard of a home in Hilliard. (Nassau County Sheriff's Office)

HILLIARD, Fla. – A pilot suffered minor injuries when a small plane crashed Wednesday morning in the yard of a home in Hilliard, authorities said.

The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that an aircraft crashed around 10:30 a.m. in the backyard of a home on Eastwood Road near Poole Road.

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Flight tracking website FlightAware shows it crashed just 12 minutes after takeoff.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the pilot of a single-engine fixed-wing airplane was conducting maneuvers in the vicinity of Hilliard Airpark and then the airplane went into a stall, plummeted and struck a tree before breaking through the branches and hitting the ground.

The pilot — identified as a 69-year-old man from North Augusta, South Carolina — was later transported to an area hospital out of precaution with “non-life-threatening injuries,” according to authorities. The Federal Aviation Administration said he was the only person on board the Rans S-12.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, with NTSB taking the lead.