2 Aurora men injured in Florida plane crash
Two Aurora men are in a Florida hospital after their small experimental plane crashed through the roof of a Florida grocery store Monday evening, injuring three customers inside.
Kim Presbrey, 60, is in intensive care at Orlando Regional Medical Center with his wife and two adult sons by his side, said Bill Weir, an attorney at Presbrey's firm, Presbrey and Associates in Aurora, who is speaking for the family.
“His main concern is burn injuries” on his back and face, Weir said.
The second Aurora man in the plane, Thomas Rhoades, was also injured in the crash. Officials said Rhoades and Presbrey were airlifted from the scene of the crash.
Three people inside the supermarket suffered burns after the amphibious aircraft crashed through the Publix Supermarket roof in DeLand, Fla. shortly after takeoff at about 7:20 p.m. Eastern time.
In total, authorities said three people suffered severe burns, and two others suffered moderate burns but did not specify which victims.
Presbrey had been in Florida with a friend on a recreational flying trip, Weir said. He owns the plane and bases it out of Aurora Municipal Airport.
Emergency dispatch tapes released Tuesday revealed panic from callers after the four-seater twin-engine plane landed between two aisles in the middle of the store.
“Publix is on fire!” a woman from inside the supermarket said in a 911 call. “The store is on fire! OK. We got to go.”
Fire consumed most of the Sea Wind 3000 plane, which was made of composite material and was amateur-built in 2002, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane had taken off from a municipal airport in DeLand, which is about 20 miles west of Daytona Beach, but a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the agency did not provide air traffic services for the flight and had no information about its flight path.
The crash is under investigation by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board, Weir said.
Family and friends are praying for Presbrey's health and are hopeful he will make it through the first 24-hours following the accident, after which time studies show trauma victims' chances of surviving improve, Weir said.
“Infection is always a concern because he's less than a day from a very significant trauma,” he said.
Family members will stay with Presbrey, a lawyer who specializes in workers' compensation, whether he remains in the Florida hospital or is transferred to a burn unit at Loyola University Medical Center or another Chicago-area hospital.
Ÿ The Associated Press contributed to this report.