Investigators are sifting through the mangled wreckage of a Cessna 140 that crashed about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night shortly after takeoff from a private airport in southeast Florida. The airport, Spruce Creek Fly-In is located in Port Orange just south of Daytona Beach. Witnesses reported the classic metal taildragger never climbed more than 200 feet into the air before entering a left turn and hitting some trees before striking the ground in an empty lot. The aircraft barely missed striking homes close to the runway of the popular fly-in community.
Federal Investigators on Scene at Florida Crash Site
Key Takeaways:
- A Cessna 140 crashed shortly after takeoff from Spruce Creek Fly-In airport in Port Orange, Florida, on Tuesday night, narrowly missing nearby homes.
- The pilot, Chase Zinn (an Embry-Riddle graduate and flight instructor), was critically injured and remains hospitalized.
- Nandish Patel, a current Embry-Riddle student, died in the accident; the university confirmed the flight was not related to ERAU activities.
- This crash marks the fifth death involving aircraft at Spruce Creek Airport, a residential fly-in community.
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