17-02-2025
Skydive plane crashes on flight from Sebastian to Palatka; pilot dies
A plane that crashed in rural southwest Flagler County killing the pilot was being flown to Palatka from Sebastian where it had been used by a local skydive business.
The pilot, who was not from the Treasure Coast, was the only person on the 10-seat capacity Cessna 208 that departed Sebastian Municipal Airport just before 6 p.m. Friday on the way to Palatka, where it was planned for use at a skydiving business, according to local and federal transportation authorities.
'We used it for the past two months,' said Brandon Radcliff, the manager of Skydive Sebastian.
He said the plane operated without problems during that time.
'No issues, none,' Radcliff said.
The crash was said to have occurred Feb. 15 near Lake Disston, which is just outside the town of Pierson roughly 60 miles north of Orlando and just under 40 miles south of Palatka.
Radcliff said he did not know the pilot, and that he did not fly for Skydive Sebastian.
The pilots for the skydive flights at Sebastian and Palatka are employed through Illinois company Eagle Air Transport Inc. The plane transfer occurred after Skydive Sebastian business hours Friday, Radcliff said.
It was scheduled for use in skydiving jumps at Skydive Palatka, he said.
The federal agency investigating the crash said it disappeared from radar amid a right turn and was found crashed in a heavily wooded area around 6:40 p.m.
'The wreckage has been recovered and has been transported to a secure facility in Jacksonville for further examination," according to an emailed statement from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The heavily damaged remains of the aircraft were found by deputies with Flagler County Sheriff's Office who noticed a heavy smell of fuel during a search of a wooded area near Lake Disston, according to recorded news conference posted on the agency's social media page.
The find was communicated to a Volusia County Sheriff's Office helicopter deputy who then spotted a tire from the plane, Sheriff Rick Staly said at the news conference.
'We had a pretty big area to search because we didn't really have an exact location,' said Staly. 'It dropped off the radar at about 900-feet high and we were told it was descending rapidly.'
Staly said the plane had filled up with fuel at Sebastian.
Despite what he said was a debris field, Staly said the descent appeared to be 'straight down' with little visible glide path, which led him to suspect mechanical failure or that the pilot experienced a medical problem.
Attempts to reach the pilot were unscuccesful by air traffic controllers in Jacksonville calls from deputies call to a phone number believed to be the cell phone of the pilot, Staly said.
Findings of an NTSB preliminary investigation are expected within 30 days of the crash, according to the agency.
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Corey Arwood is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Corey on Twitter @coreyarwood, or reach him by phone at 772-978-2246.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Pilot dies in crash relocating skydive plane from Sebastian to Palatka
