LAKE WALES - A mosquito control plane performing relief operations for Hurricane Charley crashed after hitting a communications tower Saturday morning and killed both pilots aboard, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The twin-engine Piper Aztec crashed into an orange grove east of Lake Wales in Polk County. No injuries were reported on the ground, said Kathleen Bergen of the FAA.
The main pilot was employed by Vector Disease Control Inc., out of Greenville, Miss., and was working under contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The plane departed Bartow Municipal Airport on Saturday morning and had been spraying insecticide to kill mosquitoes in eastern Polk County when it hit the communications tower.
A hazardous materials team was on site, and the National Transportation Safety Board also was investigating the crash.
The victims's names were not released pending notification of relatives. Lake Wales is about 45 miles south of Orlando.
