Pilot in deadly plane crash in Pasco County identified: PSO
By Anthony Romano, Rebecca Petit, Barrett Tryon
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WESLEY CHAPEL, Florida (WFTS) — A 60-year-old pilot is dead after a plane crashed in a residential neighborhood in Pasco County on Sunday morning, according to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office (PSO).
PSO identified Michael Bailey as the lone death in the plane crash, per a spokesperson on April 20.
The crash occurred on April 19 in a subdivision between homes on Aldus and Trinity drives in Wesley Chapel. The massive fireball was captured on security camera footage across the neighborhood.
It happened in Brandon Smith’s backyard. Smith, who was asleep at the time, was jolted awake by the impact.
“I felt a really loud thud, and it shook the house,” Smith said. “The next thing I know, I hear my mom yelling, there’s a fire, and to get out.”
He described bright orange flames shooting into the sky, with intense heat he could feel inside his house from behind his window.
The pilot was the only person on the aircraft and was killed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“It feels like a movie scene,” Smith said while looking at the destruction in his backyard. “I’m still processing it.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the craft was a Cessna 401B airplane that crashed under unknown circumstances. The FAA and NTSB were expected to be on scene by Monday.
For others in the neighborhood, it was a normal Sunday morning.
“I was out having my morning coffee. My kids were in the backyard jumping on the trampoline, and I happened to notice a plane coming over. My kids saw it too, and I thought, wow, it’s really low,” said Christina Galbiati.
Galbiati’s doorbell camera captured the moment the aircraft went down.
“It’s bad. It’s pretty much ash. I think when it landed there was fire because I smelled the fuel immediately,” Galbiati said.
The plane departed from nearby Tampa North Aero Park, with the crash occurring around 8:35 a.m., the FAA confirmed.
The Grand Oaks subdivision sits within the flight path of that airport. This isn’t the first time tragedy has struck there. In May 2020, there was a similar plane crash that killed one person in the same Wesley Chapel neighborhood.
“Very uneasy. Definitely more serious conversations need to be had with my husband about the possibility and wanting to stay here,” said Kristen W.
Once on site, an investigator will begin documenting the scene and examining the aircraft. The aircraft will then be recovered to a secure facility for further evaluation, the NTSB said.
“It was just really a surreal moment. You obviously never expect something like this to happen to you at your house,” Smith said.
Witnesses to the accident, as well as those with surveillance video or other information relevant to the investigation, are asked to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
“It makes you feel really bad for the pilot’s family, but at the same time very grateful it wasn’t us,” said Kristen.
The NTSB will lead the investigation, with assistance from the FAA.
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