WESLEY CHAPEL, FL — The pilot was killed after a small plane crashed in a Wesley Chapel backyard on Sunday morning, according to multiple reports.
The two-engine plane crashed at a home on Aldus Drive, in the Grand Oaks subdivision, around 8:30 a.m., WFLA reported.
The pilot, whose name hasn’t been released, was the only person on board.
Flight records show that the plane, which took off from the nearby Tampa North Aero Park, was in the air for less than a minute before it crashed, reports said.
Brandon Smith, who lives at the home, told Tampa Bay 28 that the crash woke him up.
"I felt a really loud thud, and it shook the house," Smith said. "The next thing I know, I hear my mom yelling, there's a fire, and to get out."
The fire, which was extinguished by Paso County Fire Rescue, also damaged the home, WWSB said.
In the aftermath, "It feels like a movie scene," Smith added. "I'm still processing it."
The National Transportation Safety Board will be the lead investigator into the crash with help from the Federal Aviation Administration.
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