Parked Flight Design CTLS In Front Of The Brevard County Government Complex

A nearly 90-year-old pilot who flew P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs during WWII made a perfect deadstick landing in a Flight Design CTLS LSA (similar airplane pictured) Friday after experiencing an engine problem with the airplane. Neither 89-year-old pilot Col. Victor Hernandez or his passenger, identified a Tim Hayes, were injured in the incident.

Hernandez and Hays has taken off from from Sebring, FL, and had made a precautionary landing in Melbourne, FL, after they experienced engine problems. They inspected the airplane and took off again, en route to Rockledge Airpark, FL, according to a report in Florida Today.

Hernandez said he thinks the engine was having a problem with its fuel system. He said he noticed the engine struggling, and then it stopped. "If the engine quit, it don't fly so good," he said.

Hernadez located Stadium Parkway in Viera, FL, and decided it was his best option for an emergency landing. He parked the airplane in front of a reflecting pool across from the Brevard County Government Complex, and calmly called authorities.

Brevard county spokesman Don Walker said there were no injuries and no property damage associated with the emergency landing.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov