(This article was revised to include the name of the pilot.)
A single-seat, experimental airplane broke apart and crashed in a desolate, rural area north of Lakeland the evening of June 15, killing the pilot, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Judd gave an update via social media from near the scene about 10:30 p.m. The plane crashed shortly after 8 p.m. in an area that’s mostly “cow pasture and woods about a mile west of Moore Road and about 3 and a half miles north of Old Polk City Road.”
The Sheriff’s Office identified the pilot as Michael Robinson, 23, of Lakeland in a news release the afternoon of June 16.
Judd said Robinson took off from Bartow airport while a friend took off from Lakeland, and they planned to meet up over the North Lakeland countryside and fly formations.
“We’ve talked to the one pilot, and he said he looked down when he saw his partner had disappeared just in time to see the plane apparently come apart and immediately crash straight down into the ground,” Judd said.
The Sheriff’s Office is handling the death investigation, and the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will handle the crash investigation.
Judd said the aircraft was a single-seater, low-wing kit experimental aircraft.
“It is just a tragic evening, that started out as a fun time with a couple of young men that were going to fly formations in their airplanes,” Judd said.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: North Lakeland plane crash kills pilot flying formations with friend
Reporting by Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Lakeland Ledger | USA TODAY Network
