Pilot Killed When Airplane Went Down Just After Takeoff

The pilot of a Vans RV-6A was killed Saturday when the airplane went down just after takeoff from Lantana airport (KLNA) in south Florida. Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies pronounced Michael Cupaiole, 58, the registered owner of the aircraft, dead at the scene.

Witnesses told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the airplane appeared to take off normally, but then seemed to lose power. One witness who was working in his yard about a block from where the airplane went down said he heard the engine die at an altitude of about 150 feet. "He banked south and turned back to the airport," said witness Tim Angelis. "He was losing altitude fast."

Another witness described the airplane as a "hot rod," and referred to it as "The Red Baron." Friends of the pilot described him as "very experienced."

Cupaiole reportedly had been working on the airplane prior to the flight, and one witness said she heard the engine "sputtering and backfiring" during the takeoff.

The airplane went down in Lake Osborne immediately east of the airport. An off-duty sheriff's deputy who was fishing on the lake near the crash site dove into the water to try to save Cupaiole, and cut him free from the Vans' seat belts, but they were unable to revive him at the scene.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov