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The craft came down off Hankla Road in Masaryktown.
By JOY DAVIS-PLATT, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 22, 2002
Two Hudson men hauled their newly assembled ultralight to an empty field in southern Hernando County, planning to practice takeoffs and landings.
They waited at the edge of the clearing for a couple of hours as the wind died down, but apparently they didn't wait long enough.
Monday evening, the pilot was flown to Tampa General Hospital after the Cosmo two-person, gas-powered ultralight crashed off Hankla Road in Masaryktown, just north of the Pasco County line. The man's identity had not been released late Monday. The other man was not injured.
Nancy Gant and her husband, John, watched the craft clip the top of the trees and fly erratically before the crash.
"I told my husband that (the ultralight) was flying awfully low," she said. "I said, "I hope he doesn't crash.' The next thing you know, he went down."
The couple, who have lived beside the open field for 27 years, say that, until now, few people have used the area for flying.
"The most that field's been used for until now is people trying to get away from the cops," Nancy Gant said.
In the high grass, the twisted aluminum frame sat near a gouge in the dirt path where it hit.
The pilot was flown to Tampa General Hospital with cuts to his head and right ankle. Officials said the Federal Aviation Administration will not investigate the crash.