He was stopping by for a visit when he found one man dead and another injured in the wreckage. Then he and the injured man's wife called 911.
By STEVE THOMPSON
Published December 7, 2003
SAN ANTONIO - The small, yellow airplane that crashed Friday in Pasco County was nose-down in a small creek when Leo Ivey got to it.
Its propeller and most of its engine was stuck in the mud.
The two men inside both were Ivey's friends.
In the co-pilot's seat was Wesley Dyson Fisher, 61, who was dead.
In the pilot's seat was Wade Shotts, 67, who was disoriented, slipping in and out of consciousness and complaining that his leg was trapped.
"Not knowing the extent of his injuries, I didn't try to move him or anything," said Ivey, 53, of Tampa.
Rescue workers soon freed Shotts, and a sheriff's deputy questioned him briefly as they prepared him to be taken to the hospital in a helicopter.
Shotts told the deputy that Fisher had been in control as they had been coming in for a landing, according to a sheriff's report.
They were preparing to land the Aeronca 11AC Chief on a private, grass airstrip inside Shotts' gated ranch along Pasco Road.
The flight was sort of a tryout, Shotts told the deputy. He was selling the plane to Fisher.
The purchase already had been made, federal records show. The plane was registered to Fisher in July.
A small oak tree stood near the crash site, which was about 50 yards away from the runway's end. Limbs had been freshly broken off the treetop, apparently by the plane, the deputy noted.
An FAA inspector told deputies that Shotts had a pilot's license, although it was unclear whether it was current.
Fisher had a student's license, which allowed him to pilot a plane but not carry passengers, the inspector said.
An FAA spokeswoman said Saturday that the crash was still under investigation and would not speculate on its cause.
Ivey was stopping by his friend's home as the crash took place. Ivey said he did not see the crash or hear a noise. But Shotts' wife, Linda, had heard the plane landing and became worried when she didn't see it come up the runway.
They soon saw it in the field and called 911.
Shotts was being treated for a collapsed lung and other injuries Saturday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, his niece Sheri Pike said.
"He's actually doing okay," Pike said. "He's probably going to be there for a couple of weeks."
