Helicopter Crash Takes Lives of Two Fla. Citrus Execs: Reports

The chief executive of Tampa Juice Service and another Florida citrus industry executive were killed Tuesday in a helicopter crash in Nicaragua, according to media reports.

Phil Tope, the chief executive, had flown on the helicopter with Jim Horrisberger, a member of the Florida Citrus Commission, to visit citrus groves belonging to Tampa Juice’s Nicaraguan parent company, according to the Tampa Tribune. The helicopter pilot and an executive with Grupo Pellas, the parent company, also died in the crash.

Officials in Nicaragua said poor visibility caused the crash, which occurred early Tuesday morning as the helicopter was flying from San Carlos to Managua, the country’s capital, media reports stated.

Tope, 72, had served as CEO at Tampa Juice Service since 1993. Horrisberger, 63, was the North American procurement director for Coca-Cola and its Minute maid subsidiary, and had served on the state commission since 2010.

In a story in The Ledger, a Lakeland newspaper, citrus executives praised both men for their service to the state’s industry. Horrisberger, a Lakeland resident, “had a tremendous amount of knowledge of global juice and citrus supply,” commission Chairman Marty McKenna told The Ledger. “He was very easy to work with and very open. Open to me means honesty and integrity.”