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UPDATE: FAA Investigating Golf Hammock Crash

Gary Pinnell/Highlands Today

The light airplane flown by missionary pilot James Weener erupted in a black cloud. The white tail section landed among group of trees beside Golf Hammock's 10th fairway. The pilot and passenger, James Ricker, were found in a dense stand of trees to the right of this photo. Wings fell behind a white house on the left, and one wound up in a tree on Lost Ball Drive.

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By Gary Pinnell | Highlands Today

Published: December 14, 2008

SEBRING - A Federal Aviation Administration investigator was on the scene Sunday of a plane crash that happened at Golf Hammock Saturday.

The first 911 calls came in at 11:40 p.m. Saturday from golfers at Golf Hammock, a subdivision on the west side of the city.

They reported hearing the engine over-revving and a loud popping sound, seeing a black cloud in the sky, and watching the wings, tail section and engine compartment fall from the sky.

Witnesses also saw the pilot, James Weener, 70, and his passenger James Ricker, 46, ejected from the plane, and land in a dense group of trees beside the 10th fairway.

Weener was a missionary pilot and a retired missionary. Ricker lived in Golf Hammock, according to Lt. Tim Lethbridge, one of the lead investigators with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office.

"Once we determined it was a recovery effort, not a rescue, we left everything in place," said Lt. Jess Purvis. The FAA was called, but investigators normally don't respond to light plane crashes, the Highlands County Sheriff's deputy said.

"But because the plane came apart in mid air, and the bodies were ejected, he took a higher interest in it," Purvis said. The bodies of the pilot and the passenger were left in the woods until the federal investigators could come, then they were taken to the medical examiner's office.

The sheriff's office photographed the wreckage and the various pieces that were found across the debris field, which is more than a mile in diameter. Bystanders picked up small debris and gave it to the sheriff's office, Purvis said.

"I'm sure we'll be picking up pieces for the next week," Purvis said Sunday morning.

The FAA still hasn't offered a reason for the crash, Purvis said.

"At this time, it's a mystery."

He expected FAA and National Transportation Safety Board investigators to be on the scene for days, looking over the debris field and talking to witnesses about the sights and sounds before the crash.

One witness described the white aircraft as an Aircoupe. An Internet reader believed it was an Ercoupe. However, no official report of the make or model of airplane has been announced.

The Forney Aircoupe is a low wing monoplane with side-by-side seating for two, according to NationMaster.com encyclopedia. The light aircraft was manufactured in the mid-1960s.

Any witnesses to the accident who haven't talked to investigators should call the sheriff's office at 402-7200.

Gary Pinnell can be reached at gpinnell@highlandstoday.com or 863 386-5828.

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