Marion County Airplane Crash - WEIRSDALE - The Marion County Sheriff's Office found the body of the second person who was aboard a plane that crashed into Lake Weir on Monday.
That second man, 72-year-old Scott Bingham, was a passenger in the Pitts Model 12 biplane that crashed about 1 p.m.
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The pilot was identified as 64-year-old Joseph Hatton. People in a boat on the lake found his body shortly after the accident. According to witnesses, Hatton jumped from the plane but failed to deploy his parachute.
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A six-man sheriff's dive team found the plane's wreckage about 21 meters below the bottom of Lake Weir. Visibility was only 6 inches by 1 foot, so they had to work by hand.
The team arrived around 1 am. and in the water around 3 a.m. The plane landed at 11 p.m. Bingham's body is still on the plane.
While the Federal Aviation Administration and the sheriff's office are involved in the investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is taking the lead.
Lt. Billy Padgett, sheriff's dive team supervisor, said when they first arrived at the scene, the tail of the plane was underwater. Padgett said the plane was on the bottom when the divers entered the water.
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Padgett said divers took a barge into the water and were assisted by three other vessels, two of which were from the agency.
The divers entered the water and managed to attach the air bags to the front and back of the plane. The lifts are designed to lift up to 2,200 pounds, he said. The divers also attached four 200-pound bags to the back of the plane.
A suit was attached to the plane and the craft was taken out of the water. Padgett said the trip from the water to the pier was about a mile and a half.
Padgett, whose visibility was poor and the plane badly damaged, said it was safer for divers to put the passenger inside the plane. The body was removed from the plane after reaching the ground.
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A spokesman said his agency would review the logs and try to determine whether the plane had mechanical or structural problems, encountered bad weather or had a previous maintenance issue.
The spokesperson said the first report would be published within 12 working days. The final report can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months.
Leeward Air Ranch resident Ralph Sebexen said he has known both men for years. He said they were sorry.
Sebexen said the men were pilots and part of the Glider Club, which had about half of its members at Leeward. According to Sebexen, Bingham founded the Glider Club. He said he would fly his club members' planes together. The plane went missing in April 2014 when pilot Theodore Weiss took off from Dunnellon Airport for the last time. It never reached its destination in Zephyrhills. Officials spent months searching the Withlacoochee State Forest for the plane and believed it went down. It was discovered only a few months later by a tourist in the reserve.
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I was actually in the area looking for other sites when I came across the plane crash. When I entered the site, I felt a great sense of sadness and curiosity at the same time. It's also one of the saddest discoveries I've ever made in the desert.
At least I know he died doing what he loved. I read that he is very passionate about flying these planes and seems to be an experienced pilot as well. It makes me wonder how it went down? We may never know...
I found this in an article (in an interview with Weiss's friend Ted Koberly of Zephyrhills, who said Weiss is a retired metal worker from Rochester, New York, who still has a family. Weiss's friend Koberly said he was retiring. personality and men shared his passion for test planes. "He's a really nice guy." , a skilled pilot and all," Coberly said. "We were supposed to fly together (when Weiss disappeared.) We had a lot in common, same plane and all.''
I left the site as is and took a few photos and videos which you can see below. From everything I read about this man, he seemed like a good guy and will be missed by many. I have printed this post to show my respect and as a memorial to him. His memory lives on forever...
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