Plane Crash Near FSU Campus

PLANE CRASHES: Throngs flock to wreck site near FSU campus
DEMOCRAT STAFF REPORTS
A small airplane crash near West Tennessee Street and Ocala Road caused chaos Friday night with widespread power outages and traffic congestion.

The single-engine Cessna crashed about 8:40 p.m. in front of Walgreens and took down several power lines. The pilot, Hal Edward McCord, 50, was the only person on board and was listed in serious condition late Friday at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, said Beth Gabrini, hospital spokeswoman.

McCord's injuries were not expected to be life threatening, and no one on the ground was injured.

"I'm sure he did everything he could to preserve his life and the lives of others," said Tallahassee Police Department spokeswoman Danielle Davis.

The power lines that the plane clipped were yards away from a gas station that was not damaged.

"(The plane) had no fuel leak, which was a major concern," said Lt. Cody Reese, spokesman for the Tallahassee Fire Department.

Sgt. Rob Reisinger, spokesman for the Leon County Sheriff's Office, said McCord was traveling to Tallahassee from Maryland.

The Federal Aviation Administration will inspect the plane on site today, and it likely will be taken to the Tallahassee Regional Airport this afternoon.

Power outages affected the entire Florida State University campus and about 7,200 other customers. Elevators stalled. Traffic lights went out. And even the 24-hour McDonald's at Tennessee and Dewey streets had locked doors because of the power outage.

Hundreds of people gathered near the site. The plane was a single-engine, propeller plane with the tail identification of N52495. It crashed nose first and landed almost vertically into the ground.

"We heard a big boom and then there was a big flash," said Madison Wells, 18, who was visiting Tallahassee from Santa Fe Community College. "We saw people running. It was crazy."

Bobbie Weston, a Tallahassee resident, was eating at Crystal River restaurant with her 16-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son and saw sparks in the air and then saw the plane hit the ground.

"I was thinking I'm glad it didn't happen here," she said. "I got scared. I know I won't be riding on any planes anytime soon."

Power was returned to the FSU campus about 11 p.m., spokeswoman Browning Brooks said.

By 10:50 p.m. most city customers' power was restored, according to a news release from the city of Tallahassee. Several hundred customers, however, were still without power late Friday night.

Kathy Froom, of Stuart, was concerned for her daughter Kaitlin, who was trapped in an elevator at FSU. About 10 p.m., Froom said her daughter was trapped in the elevator on the seventh floor of Smith Hall. She's a freshman music major. One other student was in the elevator with her.

"She's panicking and has been in there for quite a long time already," Froom said. "I'm concerned about her. She's trying to stay calm. She's getting upset. I'm concerned that there's not more help on campus for them."

Brooks said the students were rescued from the elevator. Students were informed of the crash when dorm lights went out, and text messages via the university's emergency system were sent to all. Extra FSU patrol officers rode around the dark roads.

Leon County Sheriff's Deputy Lee Majors was flying in a helicopter on routine patrol and said he saw the plane go down.

He said he was directly above the plane when it hit the power line. Majors said another officer noticed the plane over the Tallahassee Mall, and it sounded abnormal.

The pilot radioed a distress signal to the control tower three seconds before he crashed, saying he had a "dead stick," meaning his engine had failed, Majors said.

Word of the crash spread throughout the area, leaving most shaken by the news.

Charles Clark, 20, a member of the FSU track team, was in his apartment at Ashley's Place off Tennessee and Basin streets at the time of the crash.

"I thought we didn't pay our electricity bill," Clark said.

He got a phone call from his girlfriend, saying that a plane had crashed.

"I thought something happened with my team," Clark said. The track team was flying to New York for the New Balance Invitational.

Katharyn Van Petton, 21, an FSU student from Tampa who lives at Polo Club Apartments on High Road was in her bedroom when she heard what sounded like a plane overhead. But it sounded close. Then she heard a thud.

"I didn't know what to think," she said. "You never think that stuff like this is going to happen. I had to come down here and see because I wouldn't have believed it. I go grocery shopping all the time at Publix. I go to Walgreens to get my medicine. This is unbelievable."

The following reporters contributed to this story: Julian Pecquet, Nic Corbett, TaMaryn Waters, Angeline J. Taylor and Anthony Anamelechi.