Pilot killed in Florida plane crash hailed as hero
Residents of a Florida neighborhood are hailing a pilot as a hero for his final actions before he was killed in a recent plane crash.
Surveillance video captured the moment 59-year-old Michael Bailey and the plane he was piloting slammed into a residential backyard outside Tampa.
The Pasco Sheriff's Office said Bailey was the sole casualty in the Sunday morning incident.
Christina Galbiati, who lives in the Pasco County neighborhood where the crash occurred, told ABC News Tampa affiliate WFTS she believes the pilot is a "hero."
Galbiati's doorbell security camera recorded the plane crash, which unfolded at about 8:35 a.m., less than a minute after Bailey took off in a Cessna aircraft from Tampa North Aero Park, according to flight records.
"The pilot, I think, is a hero," Galbiati told WFTS, saying it seemed Bailey "knew he was coming in fast, and within that split second, nosedived it."
Fellow neighborhood resident Cheryl Korth told Reuters, "My opinion is that maybe he was having engine trouble, and he steered it so that he didn't hit our houses."
Firefighters also released video footage showing fiery debris among palm trees near the crash site.
The crash shattered windows and caused a fire, which melted nearby fences.
Brandon Smith, who said the plane crashed into his home's yard, told WFTS, "It felt like a movie scene, just really surreal."
"I'm still processing it," he added.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating the fatal crash and expects to release a preliminary report in 30 days.
