Local

2 hurt in Merritt Island airplane crash

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Two men who suffered serious injuries are expected to be OK after their plane crashed at the Merritt Island Airport in Brevard County on Wednesday.

Emergency crews were called after the plane crashed about 2:45 p.m. Video from Skywitness 9 HD showed the plane upside down near the south side of the airport's runways.

The crash came as no surprise to people who live near the airport.

"There's been many airplanes that have wrecked on the runway," said resident Jesse Carver Jr.

Although the Federal Aviation Administration was waiting to inspect the plane before making a final determination why it crashed, Brevard County Sheriff's investigators said the pilot was doing "touch and go" landings. That's where the plane lands and takes off again immediately after.

The FAA would only say the plane was in the process of landing.

The plane landed close to a nearby retirement home.

"Maybe the FAA will start paying attention," said resident Mike Ball.

Ball lives within the approach to the airport and said crashes like this worry him.

"I'm waiting for the call one day, come pick up your dogs or my parents, you know?" said Ball.

Both the pilot and passenger were able to crawl out of the plane after it crashed, but had to have firefighters decontaminate them to remove jet fuel before being taken to the hospital.

The Department of Environmental Protection said it would be checking the crash area Thursday to see how much jet fuel was spilled.