Pilot Injured in Florida Plane Crash

March 24--A single-engine turbo-prop Piper PA-46 crashed behind a home in Wellington on Friday, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

The small aircraft landed hard on the grass runway and flipped over, losing both wings and coming to rest next to a backyard swimming pool on the 15800 block of Britten Lane in the Wellington Aero Club development around 5 p.m., officials said.

Shortly after 6 p.m., the pilot, who was conscious, was pulled from the cockpit onto a ladder that was stretched across the pool to the plane's open door. The pilot was strapped to a backboard and was airlifted by Trauma Hawk to St. Mary's Medical Center, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

There was only one person aboard the plane. Two people and a dog were in the house that was narrowly missed. They were evacuated as firefighters sprayed flame retardant foam over the wreckage and pool deck to cover the spilled fuel, fire officials said.

Immediately after the crash, Greenbriar Blvd. was closed to traffic from Barnstormer Court north to the end of the grass runway that splits the horseshoe-shaped neighborhood.

The recently purchased plane was certified March 7th for Mascaro Air LLC. Aero Club resident Joseph Mascaro Jr., 66, was not at the controls, according to neighbor Fred Burkhardt who has lived in the fly-in community since 1997.

"He wasn't flying the plane," Burkhardt said. "His instructor was flying the plane."

The flight instructor's name was not immediately available. He had just returned from a day trip to the Bahamas, according to flight records.

"He came close to being in the house," Burkhardt said.

There are about 80 aircraft in the upscale Aero Club development, including helicopters and single- and twin- engine planes that fly in and out day and night, he said.

Many of the residents are retired, some are snowbirds, but others commute to work in aircraft that are often parked in their backyards and driveways, Burkhardt said. He recalled at least two fatal air crashes in the past ten years.

Staff photographer Mark Randall and researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this story.

wkroustan@tribune.com or 954-356-4303

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