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Officials remain baffled by the crash of a Polk couple's plane that slammed into the ground after takeoff Sunday.
By CHASE SQUIRES, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 3, 2002
ZEPHYRHILLS -- Carrie Lee Wulf wasn't really an avid flier, but she trusted her longtime boyfriend James Leroy Rex behind the controls of his plane.
The Lakeland couple took off early Sunday from the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport for a vacation in a Pennsylvania cabin, but something went wrong.
The single-engine aircraft clipped several trees in thick fog about 6:30 a.m. and then slammed into the ground a half-mile from the airport. The plane bounced into an unoccupied house and exploded in flames.
Rex, 49, and Wulf, 39, died instantly.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were summoned Sunday to examine the wreckage. Zephyrhills police Sgt. Jeff McDougal said they had not discussed any findings with police by Monday afternoon. NTSB investigators could not be reached for comment Monday.
McDougal said police do not know why Rex's plane was headed south, toward the airport he had just left, when it crashed.
Zephyrhills airport manager Jim Werme said he, too, was still unsure what happened. Weather was terrible for flying, with virtually no visibility, but he said all airport equipment, such as beacons and lights, had been checked and were working.
Werme said crews also checked fuel sold at the airport to ensure it wasn't contaminated.
Rex and Wulf were longtime employees at Lakeland Electric, the city-owned power company, and news of their death was expected to reverberate through the utility, director Keith Hulbert said Monday.
Rex was a purchasing agent in charge of buying fuel for the utility, and Wulf had an office job in the customer service department.
"Obviously, it's going to be a shock to the department," Hulbert said. "They were both well known and had a wide circle of friends, both in and outside the department. Our prayers go out to their families."
Wulf's brother-in-law Bobby Palmer said she was a Lakeland native and a single mother who left behind a 10-year-old son, Chad Lee Kennedy. The child was with relatives Monday, Palmer said.
"She was a wonderful mother," Palmer said. "She had so many friends, and she was very active in her church. She was just a good person. If you ever needed help, she was always there."
Rex's younger brother, Jack, said Rex had a lifelong passion for flying and he co-owned the airplane he was killed in Sunday.
The Pennsylvania native had no children, but he was one of four brothers, and his death left the family shaken, Jack Rex said. He said his brother had planned to retire from the city next year.
"He was a fun person. I wouldn't call him serious," he said. "He had a lot of friends, and he got along well with everyone."
An electronic database search confirmed James Leroy Rex had an active pilot's license.
His family traveled to Zephyrhills on Monday to talk with police and view the crash scene.
"Basically, they had the same kind of questions we all are asking," said McDougal. "We aren't going to know a whole lot more until the investigation is done."
He said autopsies were performed Monday, and while results were not immediately available, McDougal said authorities aren't expecting any surprises.
Helen Walters, who owns the home at 39444 Eighth Avenue that was damaged in the crash, said she bought the house with her husband in 1982 in anticipation of his retirement. He died a year later. She kept the insurance on the house and visited during winters, although she continued to work in Rochester, N.Y. She planned to make Zephyrhills her full-time home this winter.
She said she was at her part-time job in a Rochester department store Sunday when a police officer contacted her.
"He said I have to talk to you. There's been a disaster at your house in Florida," Walters said. "I said, "Was it an airplane?' Somehow I knew."