Small plane crashes on University of Florida campus during tailgate

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Officials said a small advertising plane crashed onto the University of Florida campus as hundreds of students were tailgating Saturday.

Witnesses and University of Florida Police Chief Linda Stump say pilot Graham Hill's attempt to make an emergency landing on Flavet Field averted disaster. No one on the ground was injured when Hill's plane lost power Saturday as it towed a banner over the campus.

The plane landed upside-down on an unoccupied pickup truck that was parked in a campus parking lot. Several people were tailgating in the area ahead of the school's evening football game, but no one was injured.

Authorities identified the plane's passenger as Ian Conrad. Hill and Conrad were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

The incident did not affect the football game. Stump said the Alachua County Sheriff's Office is investigating instead of the National Transportation Safety Board or the Federal Aviation Administration because of the federal government shutdown.

WFTV