Four Killed in Florida Midair Collision

A Polk State College flight instructor and her student were among those killed in the accident over Lake Hartridge in Winter Haven, Florida.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, March 08, 2023 at 01:00 PM ET

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The collision involved a Piper J-3 Cub on floats operated by Jack Brown's Seaplane Base and a Piper Cherokee, similar to the aircraft shown here, operated by Sunrise Aviation on behalf of Polk State College. [FLYING archive/iStock]

Key Takeaways:

Four people died in a midair collision between two light aircraft over Lake Hartridge in Winter Haven, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon.
The collision involved a Piper Cherokee operated by Sunrise Aviation for Polk State College, and a Piper J-3 Cub on floats from Jack Brown's Seaplane Base.
The victims included flight instructor Faith Irene Baker and student Zachary Jean Mace from Polk State College, and pilots Louis DeFazio and Randall Elbert Crawford from the seaplane.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA are investigating the accident.

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Authorities are investigating the midair collision in central Florida Tuesday that took the lives of four people. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s office, the accident happened over Lake Hartridge in Winter Haven, Florida, around 2 p.m.

There were several eyewitnesses to the collision between the Piper Cherokee operated by Sunrise Aviation on behalf of Polk State College, and the Piper J-3 Cub on floats operated by Jack Brown’s Seaplane Base.