Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, on June 17, canceled a planned press conference that was expected to provide an update on a plane crash two days previous that claimed the life of its pilot. He was expected to show phone video taken by his friend and fellow pilot moments before the flight.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has since said that the family of the pilot, Michael “Cole” Robinson, 23, of Lakeland, has respectfully requested that the video not be released at this time.
“This is a tragic evening for a young man, his family and friends,” Judd said in a social media update Monday evening from the scene.
Here’s what we know.
How did the plane crash in Florida?
Robinson took off from Bartow airport on Monday while a friend took off from Lakeland, and they planned to meet up over the North Lakeland countryside and fly formations, Judd said.
“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 plane crashed shortly after 8 p.m. in an area that’s mostly “cow pasture and woods.” Robinson was killed, Judd said.
What kind of plane crashed in Lakeland?
Judd said the aircraft was a single-seater, low-wing kit experimental aircraft, capable of cruising about 200 mph.
Where did the plane crash in Lakeland?
The plane came down “about a mile west of Moore Road and about 3 and a half miles north of Old Polk City Road,” Judd said.
The PCSO will continue investigating the crash, and the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been notified to do their own investigations, Judd said.
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sheriff cancels update on fatal Florida plane crash. What we know
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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By C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
