Firefighters from multiple agencies responded to a plane crash Monday at the Franklin Flying Field south of Franklin. The pilot of the aircraft, an 83-year-old Brownsburg man, was flown to an Indianapolis hospital where he remains in critical condition.
DAILY JOURNAL FILE PHOTO
A Brownsburg man is in critical condition after a Monday afternoon plane crash at a private airport in southern Johnson County.
IU Health Methodist Hospital officials on Tuesday afternoon said Floyd Oscar Hollandbeck’s condition had worsened. He was listed in critical condition Tuesday, and serious condition Monday.
The small aircraft he was flying crashed just after 2 p.m. Monday just west of the runway at the north end of the Franklin Flying Field, 3477 County Road 200 East, Franklin, northwest of U.S. 31 and State Road 252. First responders pulled Hollandbeck, 83, from the wreckage. He was flown by LifeLine helicopter to Methodist in Indianapolis. Emergency medical services personnel said he suffered facial injuries and a possible broken leg, according to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Hollandbeck was the only person on board the single-engine plane, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
A joint investigation by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board is underway, with the NTSB being in charge of the investigation. Federal investigators were on scene Tuesday investigating the crash site, Sheriff Duane Burgess said.
While the investigation is still in the early stages, investigators believe Hollandbeck was attempting to perform a “touch and go” landing and takeoff maneuver when the crash occurred. Touch and go maneuvers are practice take-offs and landings during which the pilot comes in for a landing and takes off again, said Elizabeth Cory, a spokesperson for the FAA.
The plane, a Bellanca 7GCBC, sustained substantial damage. The plane was built in 1977 and was considered airworthy. It is registered to a Fishers-based aviation company, FAA records show.
The extent and scope of the investigation is unknown. Every NTSB investigation goes through the same general process. Investigators will do fact gathering on site, then analyze the facts gathered and determine the probable cause of the accident. A final report will be issued at that time. The agency will also advocate for the acceptance of safety recommendations arising from the investigation, according to the NTSB.
