Beloved Ocala Police Chief Killed in Plane Crash Near Marion County Airport

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on October 25, 2020

Tragic news from Marion County this October evening as multiple local news outlets have reported that Ocala Police Chief Greg Graham has been killed in an aviation accident after his personal single-engine aircraft crashed into an open field close to Southwest 140th Avenue near Dunnellon.

According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, it was approximately 11:30 a.m. on October 25^th, 2020, when officers responded to calls of an airplane accident near the 9700 block of S.W. 140th Avenue in close proximity to the Marion County Airport and other unincorporated pieces of land owned by the county. Once they arrived at the crash site, they immediately rushed over to the small aircraft only to discover that Ocala Police Chief Greg Graham did not survive the impact. Authorities have indicated that this was Graham’s personal aircraft and that he had recently acquired his Florida pilot’s license. He was the only person aboard the plane at the time of the collision.

The Federal Aviation Administration will be conducting an investigation into this aviation accident.

Although pilots-to-be have to undergo hours upon hours of rigorous flight training, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that once they’re all alone in that cockpit that it’ll be smooth flying from there. It is quite possible that Graham found himself in a dire situation and didn’t know how to safely navigate his way out of it. Another possibility is that there was a malfunction with the plane itself. Single-engine airplanes and small aircrafts such as these frequently experience malfunctions due to faulty craftsmanship and manufacturing, unfortunately.

Friends and law enforcement colleagues have spoken out about Graham’s sudden passing as the effects of this loss are being felt throughout the entire Ocala community. Condolences have been pouring in to the Marion County Fire Rescue Facebook page from all over Florida and even Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Graham once served as police chief before moving back to Ocala nine years ago. “He loved Ocala and Ocala loved him,” said Sheriff Billy Woods in a statement to the press.

Sources:

• Ocala police chief killed in Marion County plane crash
• Ocala Police Chief Greg Graham killed in plane crash in southwest Marion County

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.