QUINCY, Fla. (WTXL) - A pilot is recovering and cleanup is underway after a plane crashed into a front yard in Quincy last week.
A federal investigation is still ongoing, but in the meantime, a homeowner is stuck dealing with the debris.
According to Florida Highway Patrol, at about 12:52 p.m. on Friday they received a call of an airplane crash near State Road 12 and Henry Grady Road in Gadsden County.
Preliminary statements made by witnesses and the pilot indicated the plane experienced a loss of power 600 feet in the air.
Neighbors say the wreckage was a shocking sight.
"I didn't think anybody would come out of it," said Allen Sircy, who lives near the home where the plane crashed Friday. "[The pilot] came out shook up, but he's going to be alright."
Florida Highway Patrol says the pilot was 78-year-old Thomas Bowling. He was the only person inside when he crashed.
After a passerby made a brave rescue, Bowling went to Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare with serious injuries. Monday, TMH officials said he's in fair condition, still recovering in the hospital.
Meanwhile, crews spent Sunday afternoon cleaning up what was left of Bowling's plane. As for all the downed trees and broken branches? That's the homeowner's mess to clean up.
A spokesperson from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection says they took soil samples and found fuel was released on the ground after the crash. Now, they're working to prevent the fuel from seeping deeper into the soil and impacting the groundwater. They expect to start removing some of the soil in the coming days.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been investigating the crash all weekend. They're not yet releasing any new information.
