MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — A 19-year-old pilot walked away uninjured after his rented plane experienced engine failure and crashed upside down in the Hungryland Preserve in Martin County.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office said Monday in a news conference that deputies responded to the area of Pratt Whitney Road and Indiantown Road shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday following two reports of a crash.
WATCH BELOW: 'One engine went out. He had engine failure,' Sheriff John Budensiek tells WPTV's Tyler Hatfield
"One call came from the pilot, and another came from a control tower in Palm Beach," Sheriff John Budensiek said.
The pilot, identified as Anders Brock-Utne, 19, of Dallas, Texas, rented the single-engine fixed-wing Piper Aircraft in Melbourne, Florida to log flight hours, the sheriff said.
"He originated from Dallas, Texas, went to Melbourne, rented this airplane, flew it down to Fort Lauderdale, landed and then took off again," Budensiek said, "headed back to Melbourne and about halfway up, which is where we are, one engine went out. He had engine failure."
The sheriff said flight tracking showed Brock-Utne attempting to turn back to Fort Lauderdale before aiming for a rural landing strip, and finally a canal road. The plane hit the ground short of the road and flipped onto its roof.
"He comes about, it's my understanding, quite a few feet short of that road, hits the ground, and then at some point, the plane rotates over and lands on the roof and he comes out unscathed," Budensiek said.
WATCH PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Pilot survives plane crash in Martin County
Martin County Fire Rescue evaluated Brock-Utne at the scene of the crash and reported no injuries, the sheriff said. Deputies transported him to Stuart, where he took an Uber back to Melbourne.
The sheriff said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission secured the scene until the National Transportation Safety Board arrived on Sunday. The NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration are now investigating the cause of the crash.
Budensiek noted that this is the second, recent incident near Indiantown Road where a young pilot survived a crash.
Pilot, Niko Bray, 19, made an emergency landing on a busy road in Jupiter WPTV reported last month.
"We've had two young men survive what would have killed most people in plane crashes," Budensiek said. "So, we're thankful that it wasn't worse."
