Experimental RV-3A Breaks Apart in Flight, Killing Pilot Near Lakeland

A pilot was killed Monday evening when his experimental, single-seat Van's RV-3A broke apart in flight and crashed into a rural cow pasture north of Lakeland, Fla., according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office and local reports. The aircraft, registered N696DB, was destroyed in the in-flight breakup and subsequent ground impact near the 11000 block of Moore Road. Emergency crews were dispatched at approximately 7:54 p.m. after a 911 call reported a plane going down; first responders located the wreckage in a wooded section of the pasture. The pilot was the sole occupant and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration have been notified and will lead the investigation into the cause of the accident. The Polk County Sheriff's Office is handling the death investigation and securing the scene. Preliminary reports suggest another pilot may have witnessed a catastrophic structural failure before the aircraft went down, though that account has not been officially confirmed. The pilot reportedly departed Bartow Executive Airport earlier that evening. The victim's identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin.

The Van's RV-3A is a single-seat homebuilt kit aircraft widely flown for sport and recreational purposes. In-flight breakups in experimental aircraft are among the accident categories the NTSB scrutinizes most closely, with investigators typically examining airframe condition, prior maintenance records, and weather and flight-envelope data. No further details about the pilot's flight history or the circumstances leading to the structural failure have been released.