• Home
  • Mail
  • News
  • Finance
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Search
  • Mobile
  • More
Yahoo
    • Skip to Navigation
    • Skip to Main Content
    • Skip to Related Content
    • Mail
    Lifestyle Home
    Follow Us
    • Style
    • Beauty
    • Wellness
    • Shopping
    • MAKERS
    • Holiday Guide for Guys
    • Pets
    • Video
    • Horoscopes
    • Pop Culture

    18-year-old pilot and pageant queen dies in plane crash: 'Flying was her love and her passion'

    Kerry Justich
    Yahoo LifestyleJuly 8, 2019
    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share
    Elizabeth "Lake" Little, 18, died after sustaining injuries from a single-engine plane crash on Saturday afternoon. (Photo: Facebook)
    Elizabeth "Lake" Little, 18, died after sustaining injuries from a single-engine plane crash on Saturday afternoon. (Photo: Facebook)

    An 18-year-old pilot from Mississippi died on Saturday evening from injuries sustained in a plane crash on the University of Mississippi golf course earlier that day.

    The Starkville teen and pageant queen, Elizabeth “Lake” Little, was transported to a Memphis-area trauma center after the single-engine plane crashed near the course’s 17th hole. According to University of Mississippi spokesman Rod Guajardo, Little was the only person aboard the plane when she was “performing ‘touch and go’ takeoffs and landings.”

    Little had her private pilot’s license and aspired to fly for FedEx. She was selected to compete in this month’s Mississippi Miss Hospitality pageant, and according to her Miss Hospitality profile, was set to attend the University of Southern Mississippi in the fall, where she planned to study speech pathology.

    Representatives from the pageant didn’t immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment. However, director Angella Baker told The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that “she was full of life and lived it to the fullest.”

    Little is the daughter of Starkville, Miss. Alderman David Little and Pattie Little. Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill shared her condolences on Twitter, where she said that “flying was [Little’s] love and her passion.”

    The City of Starkville is saddened by the loss of Lake Little. She was a star for us and had such a great plan for her life commitment to others. Flying was her love and her passion. Our thoughts and prayers to her family for comfort.

    — Lynn Spruill (@lynn_spruill) July 7, 2019

    In an interview with Yahoo Lifestyle Spruill says “the city is still coming to grips with the loss. We are awaiting the determination of the services for her as we work to support the family in this time of grief and loss.”

    Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant also shared his support for the grieving family via social media.

    Such sad news about Lake Little. A beautiful light has passed from this world far too soon. Deborah and I pray the dear Lord would assuage the pain and grief of her parents and family. https://t.co/iP2xJkSdns

    — Phil Bryant (@PhilBryantMS) July 7, 2019

    Guajardo tells Yahoo Lifestyle that the National Transportation Safety Board is carrying out an investigation into the crash and will be releasing their findings on Monday.

    Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

    • ‘Beautiful’ and ‘well-known’ college student dies at South Carolina fraternity party

    • Teen killed by suspected drunk driver on her way home from prom

    • College student dies after falling from campus clock tower weeks before graduation

    Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.

    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    What to Read Next

    • Swe Zin Htet on being the first openly gay Miss Universe contestant: 'People in Myanmar are not accepting of this'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Lizzo Twerked in a Thong on the Jumbotron at an LA Lakers Game

      Elle
    • Two Women Landed in the ER After Using a Vacuum to End Their Periods, According to a Nurse's Scary Viral Tweet

      Meredith Videos
    • Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae Young Snap 'Family' Holiday Pic with Kids

      House Beautiful
    • Catherine Zeta-Jones Posted an Emotional Tribute to Kirk Douglas on His 103 Birthday

      Country Living
    • Emma Watson Dressed Up as Bellatrix Lestrange on the Red Carpet

      Harper's Bazaar
    • We Got to Peek Inside Giada De Laurentiis' LA Home & It Wasn't at All What We Expected

      SheKnows
    • Um, An NFL Reporter Found Out Her Boyfriend Was Cheating Because Of His Fitbit

      Women's Health
    • Lady Gaga Just Went Pantsless in a T-Shirt, Fishnets & Barely Anything Else

      Marie Claire
    • Kendall Jenner's Nude Minidress Looks Like It's Dripping in Tinsel

      Harper's Bazaar
    • How I Responded When a Child Commented on My Body Size

      The Mighty
    • Abandoned 5-Year-Old Carries Toddler in Extreme Cold After Adult Allegedly Left Them in Home

      People
    • Cardi B Covers 'Vogue' with Her Daughter Kulture

      Fashionista
    • Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' Wedding Photos Are Now Banned from Pinterest

      Harper's Bazaar
    • Watch This Cyst Pop Send Gray Oatmeal-Like Gunk Flying Two Feet

      Men's Health
    • Kelly Ripa and Daughter Lola Stepped Out in Complementary Mini Dresses

      InStyle

    Trump impeachment hearing: Pro-Trump Infowars host who called for Obama to be lynched thrown out of inquiry

    Carl Spackler: “The day Richard Nixon failed to answer that subpoena is the day he was subject to impeachment because he took the power from Congress over the impeachment process away from Congress, and he became the judge and jury,” -- Lindsey Graham, 1999

    Join the Conversation
    1 / 5

    6.6k

    • Cardi B Just Got Hella Candid About Those Offset Cheating Rumors in a 'Vogue' Interview

      Cosmopolitan
    • Meghan Markle Was Unrecognizable During an Early Charity Visit in a Baseball Cap and Jacket

      InStyle
    • Camila Cabello Just Joked That Shawn Mendes Might Break Up With Her

      Seventeen
    • This local hardware store’s $130 commercial is being dubbed ‘the best Christmas ad of the year'

      In The Know
    • "Milky Nails" Are the Manicure Trend You're Going to See All Throughout 2020

      Allure
    • Chrissy Teigen Claps Back at a Troll Who Tells Her to "Cover Up"

      Cosmopolitan
    • Kelly Ripa Unveils Christmas Tree With Nostalgic Family Photos

      Woman's Day
    • Princess Beatrice Cancels Her Engagement Party In the Wake of Prince Andrew Scandal

      Marie Claire
    • Your Blood Pressure Reading May Be Inaccurate, According to Experts

      Woman's Day
    • Ryan Reynolds recruits 'Peloton wife' for hilarious new Aviation Gin ad

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Princess Charlotte Casually Asked for a Pony for Christmas This Year

      Cosmopolitan
    • Amazon delivery man speaks out after video of his celebratory dance goes viral: 'I was extremely suprised'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Ryan Reynolds Trolled That Conversational Peloton Ad and the Internet Has Thoughts

      Glamour
    • The Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: Solange, Lady Gaga, and More

      Vogue
    • At Least 16 People Have Contracted Hepatitis A In A Blackberry-Related Outbreak

      Delish
    • Dear Therapist: My Son Is Angry About the Way He Was Treated Last Christmas

      The Atlantic