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19-Year-Old Pilot Walks Away After Engine Failure Forces Crash in Florida Preserve

Investigators are examining a reported engine failure.

Overview

  • The pilot, identified as Anders Brock-Utne of Dallas, was unhurt after an emergency landing late Saturday in Martin County’s Hungryland Preserve.
  • Sheriff John Budensiek said the single‑engine Piper he rented in Melbourne for flight‑hour logging lost power, and the teen declared an emergency with air traffic control.
  • Deputies responded near Pratt Whitney Road and Indiantown Road after crash reports from the pilot and a control tower and found the aircraft overturned with the pilot out.
  • Flight tracking showed attempts to turn back toward Fort Lauderdale and then line up a rural strip and a canal road before the plane touched down short and flipped onto its roof.
  • The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission secured the site until the NTSB arrived Sunday, and the NTSB and FAA have opened a formal investigation.