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Plane crash-lands at Banyan Golf Club near Wellington; person hospitalized

FAA, NTSB to investigate wreck, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue
Small plane wedged between palm trees at Banyan Golf Club near Wellington, April 24, 2023
Posted at 11:22 AM, Apr 24, 2023
and last updated 2023-04-24 21:58:59-04

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — One person was taken to the hospital Monday after a small plane made a crash-landing on the course at Banyan Golf Club near Wellington.

Aerial video from WPTV Chopper 5 showed a Thatcher CX-4, a single-engine experimental aircraft, smashed into a group of palm trees in a sandy area just off the fairway.

A spokesman for Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said emergency crews were called to the course, located at 1393 Lyons Road, at about 10:30 a.m.

Members of the Banyan Golf Course said the rain was torrential just before the plane went down.

Aerial view wide shot of small plane after crashing at Banyan Golf Club, April 24, 2023
This bird's eye view of the fairway at Banyan Golf Club shows a small plane wedged between two palm trees, April 24, 2023, near Wellington, Fla.

Fire rescue crews from a substation two miles away crossed the fairway to get to the downed plane and the pilot.

"The person involved was not in the plane when we arrived," Palm Beach County Fire Rescue spokesman Tom Reyes said. "So, they were able to get themselves out of the plane before we arrived on scene."

The pilot had gotten out of the plane after it crashed and was taken to a hospital as a trauma alert.

"All of their people are waiting when the patient gets there with the idea that they get treatment the minute they arrive," Reyes said.

The plane is registered to an owner in southern Georgia.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot was the only person on board.

The name and condition of the pilot have not been released.

Both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.