ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – The pilot of a small, single-engine plane died Tuesday evening following a crash in a wooded area within the Paynes Prairie State Park, according to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.
Shortly after 2 p.m., the Combined Communications Center (CCC) got reports from residents in Micanopy saying they heard a plane losing altitude and then a loud “boom” sound, deputies said.
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At the same time, the CCC also received calls from the Jacksonville and Gainesville control towers reporting losing radar contact with a plane on the radar screen over the park.
Alachua deputies and firefighters responded to the area and started conducting a “meticulous” grid search. However, due to the cloudy, rainy and poor visibility conditions, they could not send air assets to help with the search, according to deputies.
Then, at around 5:15 p.m., search crews found the wreckage of the plane in a wooded area within the park.
The pilot died at the scene.
The Medical Examiner’s Office is in the process of identifying the pilot.
This incident is now being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.