DELAND, Fla. — Federal investigators released a preliminary report on Monday about the small aircraft that crashed into a DeLand supermarket last week.
The plane had just taken off from the DeLand Municipal Airport when it suddenly lost power and crashed into the Publix in the Northgate Shopping Center on International Speedway Boulevard on April 2.
It could take several months for investigators to determine the cause, but the report obtained Monday revealed important details surrounding crash that caused such chaos and closed down the grocery store indefinitely.
According to the report, pilot Kim Presbry and passenger Thomas Rhoades were on a long trip. The pair took off from Aurora, Illinois, and then they stopped in Tennessee to refuel before they took to the skies again.
However, they had to stop again in DeLand because their transponder, a device used to identify an aircraft, broke. Their final destination was going to be Sanford, but they tried to fly to Daytona Beach first for repairs.
One witness said she heard the plane sputtering, then saw it descend straight down, nose first.
"The engine sounded like it was sputtering and the next thing you know he went down nose first," the witness told the emergency dispatcher.
Other reports were similar.
One pilot said he saw the plane stall and enter a descending left spin for it disappeared behind a tree line and crashed into the supermarket.
"Yeah, Publix supermarket's on fire! I see the flames shooting up on top of the building," the 911 caller said.
The National Travel and Safety Board stated the plane’s owner, Presbry, bought the Seawind 3000 amphibious plane six weeks ago, and he was new to the plane.
Before that, it had not been flown for three years. The report states Presbry and Rhoades were on their way to Sanford to get training for a seaplane rating in Altamonte Springs.
WFTV
