Pilot walks away from glider crash with lacerations

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An amateur-built power glider crash-landed early Wednesday afternoon at the Bob Lee Airport off of State Road 15A, just north of DeLand, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office says.   The pilot, identified as 71-year-old John Charter, was the sole occupant and survived. 

"We had a call from an eyewitnesses who saw the plane come down," said Andrew Gant with the Sheriff's Office. "He basically walked away from this crash.  He had some serious lacerations to his face and we airlifted him out of here."

The crash was reported to the Sheriff’s Office around 12:45 p.m.  With the help of a Sheriff’s Office helicopter, deputies located the crash site in the woods off of Gold Springs Road, just east of the private airstrip.  "It's amazing he made it out of there alive!" Gant added. 

The Federal Aviation Administration has been notified about the crash.