Small plane performs emergency landing on Flagler Beach bridge, cockpit engulfs in flames

The man, woman and small dog onboard escaped with no injuries, according to Flagler Beach Police Department.

  • By Paige Wilson
  • | 10:21 p.m. August 20, 2017
  • Palm Coast Observer
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One male pilot and one female passenger, with their small dog in tow, escaped from a single-engine plane with no injuries after an emergency landing on Flagler Beach bridge on Sunday at 8:03 p.m., according to Florida Highway Patrol. 

The pilot, Stevan Locki, 35, of Fort Lauderdale, and passenger, Brandi Bishop, 34, of Miami, were unharmed, according to the report. Locki and Bishop had reportedly refueled at Flagler County Airport before the incident.

FHP District Sgt. Michael Quade reported that Locki said after he refueled at Flagler Airport, the plane, while in mid flight, had began to lose all power, and his engine and all electronics on board failed. Locki told Quade he had no choice but to land the plane on the roadway of State Road 100, as traffic was clear prior to the landing.

Dustin Snyder, lieutenant with Flagler Beach Fire Department, said he arrived on scene a few minutes after the incident. Snyder said all onboard had self-extricated from the plane, a 1968 Mooney M20C, just before the cockpit engulfed in flames.

“As they were coming out, the fire started,” Synder said. “Once we got the majority of the fire knocked down inside the cockpit, (fuel) started leaking underneath.”

When Synder arrived on scene, Flagler Beach Fire Rescue Battalion 93 Chief Jamie Burnsed let Synder know that the two people and the one dog onboard had escaped unharmed.

Flagler Beach Police Department Sgt. David Arcieri confirmed there were no injuries.

What else we know:

  • At about 8:03 p.m., Jacksonville Region Communication Center received a call about a plane crash on State Road 100.
  • At 8:27 p.m. Flagler Beach Police Department arrived on scene and tweeted that the Flagler Beach bridge on State Road 100 was closed from the east and west due to the emergency landing of a plane.
  • Flagler Beach Police, Flagler County Sheriff's Office and the Flagler County Fire Department all assisted Florida Highway Patrol during this incident. 
  • Flagler Air Exchange cleared the aircraft from the bridge late Sunday night and transported it to their facility for further processing and investigation.
  • The bridge reopened to traffic, eastbound and westbound, at 12:50 a.m. Monday, according to a tweet by Flagler Beach Police.
  • The plane had reportedly flown to Flagler County from Georgia.
  • The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will be conducting a separate investigation.

This story was originally published Sunday at 10:21 p.m. and updated Monday at 11:25 a.m. with new information from a press release from Florida Highway Patrol.

 

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