Merritt Island Airport reports hard landing for aircraft; no injuries reported
Two people escaped injury Monday following a hard landing at a Merritt Island Airport runway, Brevard County Fire Rescue reported. It was the second aircraft incident to be reported in Brevard County since Saturday.
Fire rescue crews were called to Merritt Island Airport at about 12 p.m. after reports that an aircraft with damaged landing gear was attempting to make a landing. The unidentified airplane pilot conducted the landing, with the aircraft sliding off of the runway, officials reported.
Neither of the two people onboard was injured and both refused to be transported to a nearby hospital for further medical checks. No other details were available on the identification of the airplane or pilot.
In an unrelated case Saturday, an unidentified pilot was injured when an ultralight-style aircraft he was steering crashed into a thicket of woods in Titusville.
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The crash happened at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday near 2880 W. Jay Jay Road, Brevard County Fire Rescue reported. The pilot — reported to be a man in his 60s — was flying the single-engine aircraft when it began to fall below the nearby tree line.
The condition of the unnamed pilot was not released Sunday. Federal Aviation Administration officials said the craft did not meet the criteria to be defined as an aircraft and has deferred the investigation to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.
The FAA was contacted in both cases. An investigation is underway.
J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Merritt Island Airport: No one injured as plane makes hard landing
