Pilot, 75, injured after small plane crash in DeLand: officials

DELAND, Fla. - A pilot was injured in a small plane crash in DeLand on Thursday afternoon, according to officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and DeLand Fire Department.

Officials identified the pilot as Heinz Gustav Peier, 75, of Ormond Beach.

The pilot was the only person on board the twin-engine Admore Aircam that crashed off Eidson Drive near Highway 11 on its approach to Deland Municipal Airport shortly after 2 p.m.

Peier was airlifted to a local hospital as a trauma alert. The pilot is said to be in critical but stable condition.

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The FAA and National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) are investigating.

"It's crazy, something you don't see every day," said nearby resident Jason Merrill as he passed by the road and saw the mangled plane in the field. Merrill said Eidson Drive is a common "cut-through" road through the area, which is about a mile away from the DeLand Municipal Airport.