Volusia County Seaplane Crash Injures Two Men

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on July 21, 2020

On July 16th, 2020, authorities with the Federal Aviation Administration and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission began an investigation into the cause of an aviation accident that occurred at Lake Dexter in Astor, and involved a small seaplane carrying two men.

According to preliminary reports from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, it was early this past Thursday morning when the 9-1-1 call was received by dispatchers from a local boater at Lake Dexter. The caller stated that while he was taking his boat out for a quick spin, he stumbled upon two men sitting on top of a small, overturned airplane in the lake. After making the phone call, the boater rescued 52-year-old pilot Larry Morton and his passenger, 60-year-old Alan Chott Kendrick from the crashed vessel and transported them both to a local fish camp.

Once the two men arrived back on land, emergency response teams assessed their injuries. Other than a broken nose for the pilot, most of their ailments were surprisingly minor, given the type of accident they were just involved in. They were then taken to Advent Health Care DeLand for additional medical treatment and are said to be in stable condition at the time of this writing.

Back at the seaplane crash site, investigators with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission in cooperation with the FAA started looking into the exact cause of the crash. Witness statements obtained from the two victims before they were taken to the hospital indicate that they were practicing take-offs and landings on the popular lake which serves as a border between Volusia and Lake Counties. Flight logs and recordings will be reviewed after the submerged aircraft is lifted out of the water, which is planned for later this week.

It is no doubt incredible that these two men survived this type of plane crash. Aviation accidents involving these small aircrafts do not typically have this outcome, but thankfully it was different in this case.

For over forty years, Orlando plane crash attorney James O. Cunningham has been representing the victims of aviation accidents. If you would like to schedule a free 30-minute case evaluation, please contact us today at 877-FL-INJURY.

Sources:

• 2 men injured after seaplane crashes into lake, deputies say
• Plane crashes in Lake Dexter in Astor
• 2 injured in seaplane crash in west Volusia County lake

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.