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Mother, 7-year-old daughter, pilot killed in Pasco plane crash

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Tina Copeland, who just got married last week, was bringing her daughter, Cami, to Lakeland for a weekend visit. The plane they were traveling in crashed in Pasco County, killing both of them and the pilot, Thomas Scott Long.

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 24, 2009

Updated: 10/24/2009 11:31 pm

ZEPHYRHILLS - Killed in a fiery single-engine plane crash Friday night in Zephyrhills were a 46-year-old mother newly married only a week ago and her 7-year-old daughter whom she had just picked up for a weekend visit, according to a friend of the child's father.

On Saturday, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office identified the three people killed in the 8:20 p.m. crash as Tina Copeland of 1119 Lake Point Terrace in Lakeland; her daughter, Cami Copeland; and pilot Thomas Scott Long, 44, of 12708 Litewood Drive in Hudson.

Positive identifications must be made by the medical examiner's office, but next-of-kin had been notified, the sheriff's office said.

The Piper Malibu was traveling from Gainesville to Lakeland when it crashed in swampy land near U.S. 98 in eastern Pasco.

The plane was registered to Citrus Aviation of Lakeland. The company is registered to Robert Stallings, Tina Copeland's new husband and the owner and president of Lakeland-based Stallings Crop Insurance. Stallings could not be reached for comment.

Stallings and Copeland wed Oct. 17 according to Nevada court records. Copeland, an office manager for Gator Custom Mobility, was returning to Lakeland with her daughter for a weekend visit, said Ginny Keith, who said she is a friend of the child's father and was acting as a family spokeswoman.

Cami "was a very loving little girl. She loved to sing and loved her horse, Ladybug," said Keith, of Gulf Hammock. "You couldn't walk past her without getting a hug.… She will be missed."

Cami's father, Matt Copeland, 48, of Archer, which is near Gainesville, was notified of his daughter's death about 4 a.m. Saturday, Keith said. He was doing well considering the circumstances, she said.

Cami was a second-grader at Archer Elementary School.

Investigators are taking the wreckage to a hangar in Groveland, said Bob Gretz, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. It likely will be five to seven days before the agency issues its preliminary report, he said.

Federal Aviation Administration crews also will visit the crash site, agency spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

Preliminary information indicates the plane departed Gainesville about 7:40 p.m., Gretz said. The pilot reported engine trouble and was rerouted to the Zephyrhills airport, which was closer than the Lakeland airport, officials said. But the plane crashed about 8:20 p.m. three-quarters of a mile north of the airport.

Tribune reporter Sarah Hoye and News Channel 8 reporter Chip Osowski contributed to this report. Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 731-8168.

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