February 18, 2009
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

TWO KILLED IN PLANE CRASH WEST OF NEW SMYRNA BEACH

The Volusia County Sheriffs Office located the wreckage early Wednesday morning of a small plane that crashed in the woods near Lake Ashby east of Deltona and west of New Smyrna Beach. The two occupants died in the crash and have been identified as a flight instructor, Adi Atkinson, 23 of Sanford and student pilot, Derek Fox, 30, of Lake Mary.

The plane, a single-engine Cirrus SR20, is believed to have departed Tuesday afternoon from Orlando Sanford International Airport. Authorities in Seminole County launched a search for the craft after it was reported overdue. Early Wednesday morning, a radar analysis indicated that the plane spiraled towards the ground in Volusia County. The Volusia County Sheriffs Office mounted a search from the ground and air at 2:25 a.m. Wednesday morning. A Sheriffs Office helicopter located the crash site at 3:45 a.m.

The plane, owned by Delta Connection Academy is mostly intact, although it sustained front-end damage. The Florida Division of Forestry has been called in to clear a path to help responders get to the heavily-wooded crash site just west of S.R. 415.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.

The Volusia County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted autopsies on Wednesday, ruling that both victims died quickly as a result of blunt force trauma.