Both planes from Tuesday's midair collision in Winter Haven removed from Lake Hartridge
WINTER HAVEN — Both planes that were involved in a fatal midair collision on Tuesday were retrieved from Lake Hartridge by Thursday afternoon.
The first plane, a Piper J-3 Cub seaplane, was pulled from the water Wednesday. An official with the National Transportation Safety Board said one victim’s body remained in the plane after it was towed to a dock at Lake Hartridge Nature Park. Lynn Spencer, an air safety investigator, declined to say which of the four victims remained in that plane, a Piper J-3 Cub seaplane.
The second plane, a Piper PA-28 Cherokee fixed-wing plane, was towed to the dock by boats on Thursday before being pulled from the water by a tow truck.
On Wednesday, Spencer offered more details on the crash that claimed the lives of two aboard each small plane. She said a Piper PA-28 Cherokee took off Tuesday from Lakeland Linder International Airport for an instructional flight.
That plane carried Faith Irene Baker, 24, of Winter Haven, a pilot and flight instructor with Sunrise Aviation; and Zachary Jean Mace, 19, of Winter Haven, a student at Polk State College. The plane was doing touch-and-go drills at Winter Haven Regional Airport, flying in a pattern of entirely left turns, Spencer said.
The yellow Piper J-3 Cub had taken off from Brown’s Seaplane Base on Lake Jessie, just west of Winter Haven Regional Airport. That high-wing plane was maneuvering over Lake Hartridge about 2 p.m. Tuesday as it prepared an approach to Lake Jessie from the east, Spencer said.
Previously2 planes collide over Winter Haven lake. Four people killed
On second day4th person identified in deadly plane collision in Winter Haven
Westwood Middle15-year-old charged in stabbing incident at Winter Haven middle school
Spencer didn’t say who was flying each of the planes. She said the first priority was retrieving the bodies and then the planes, after which the NTSB would focus on determining the cause of the collision.
The agency’s investigators will examine the planes to assess the angle of impact, which Spencer said would be important in discovering what happened. She said the NTSB expects to issue a preliminary report in two to three weeks and a factual report listing the probable cause of the accident in 12 to 18 months.
During the on-scene investigation, Spencer said, the NTSB would be “looking at the pilots, their airplanes and their environment.”
On Thursday, recovery crews attached flotation devices to the Cherokee and slowly pulled it to the dock, still submerged with only a piece of the tail showing. It was then pulled out of the lake by a tow truck.
Specialist diving and recovery teams worked in the lake because visibility was “very poor,” Spencer said, only about 8 inches. The planes will be taken to a secure area for examination, and NTSB investigators plan to interview any witnesses to the accident and seek any videos that might exist.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office had a command center vehicle parked at Lake Hartridge Nature Park, which remained closed to the public Wednesday. Rescue vehicles from the Winter Haven Fire Department and Polk County Fire Rescue were stationed near the dock.
The Winter Haven Police Department and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also contributed to the response effort, Spencer said.
The NTSB held another media update Thursday afternoon, but it wasn't over in time for The Ledger's print deadline.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Recovery crews remove both planes from Lake Hartridge in Winter Haven
