Pilot injured in crash in downtown Cape identified
The pilot injured when a small plane crashed in Cape Coral on Friday has been identified.
Daniel Henry Fase, 51, was flying the single-engine Cessna 172 when shortly before 10 a.m. he appeared to attempt to land on Miramar Street, according to witnesses. During the landing, the plane apparently clipped a power line, flipped over and crashed wheels-up near the Dolphin Key Resort.
Fase was the only occupant in the plane and no one on the ground was hurt in the accident.
The Cape Coral Fire Department stated that he was trauma-alerted to a local hospital.
As of Tuesday, Fase’s condition was unknown as he was not listed in Lee Health’s patient directory.
According to officials, Fase is a deputy with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
“He has been employed with the agency since 2009,” spokeswoman Sgt. Anita Iriarte said.
“He does not work in aviation,” she added.
The Federal Aviation Adminis-tration reported that Fase had flown out of Fort Myers.
“The pilot departed Page Field,” Arlene Salac, spokeswoman for the FAA’s Southern Region, said. “(He) was planning on returning to the same airport.”
No further details on the crash, including its cause, were available on Tuesday.
The incident has been handed over to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is “responsible for investigating and determining the probable cause of every civil aviation accident” in America.
“I don’t have any updates on that particular accident,” spokesman Keith Holloway said.
He explained that an NTSB investigation typically takes about 12 to 18 months to complete.
“So, this is still very early in the investigation,” Holloway said.
A preliminary report on the incident may be available by early next week.
“But, the preliminary report does not state a cause,” he said. “It’ll just be some factual information about what we know of the accident at this particular time.”
On Friday, Cape police and fire units responded to the crash. First-responders helped direct traffic, while mitigation was conducted around the crash site, where fuel and other fluids had leaked from the plane. As estimated 1,800 LCEC customers were immediately without power because of the crash landing.
By 2:30 p.m., power had been restored to all of the affected customers.
Joan Weaver was sitting on a bench under the portico of the Holiday Inn Express on Cape Coral Parkway East when she saw the small plane heading east toward Del Prado Boulevard.
“I just saw this plane coming down lower, lower and lower,” she said the morning of the accident. “It took a few seconds to realize what was happening. It disappeared and then I heard the crash.”
“It was a large boom sound and then you heard the transformers and wires,” Weaver added.
Fase could not be reached for comment on Tuesday regarding the crash.