Two People Injured When Plane Lost Power Near Football Stadium

Two people aboard a banner-towing airplane flying over the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, FL before the Florida-Arkansas football game were injured during an emergency landing in a field near James G. Pressley Stadium on the campus.

The airplane reportedly lost power while towing the banner over the campus, according to a report from the Associated Press. Gainesville Fire and Rescue chief Gene Prince said the pilot cut the banner loose. It came down in a residential neighborhood causing some minor property damage, according to Gainesville Police Lt. Bruce Giles.

The plane reportedly passed over the stadium, and then a residence hall before flying between two tall light poles and finally landing in an area known as Flavet Field.  

The airplane bounced once before impacting a vehicle on the ground. Both pilot Graham Hill and passenger Ian Conrad were able to get out of the airplane under their own power, but "they were pretty bloody" according to a witness who arrived on the scene.

Hill was credited with avoiding coming down in a populated area where there would have been a risk of injuring people on the ground. With the government partially shut down, including the investigative arms of the FAA and NTSB, the accident is being investigated by the Alachua County Sheriff's Office.

FMI: www.alachuasheriff.org