Bartow, FL - The Polk County Sheriff's Office reports that 76-year-old Dennis Powell and his wife, 73-year-old Bonnie Powell died in a single-engine plane crash near Bartow yesterday (February 13) morning.
Media Director Scott Wilder says the crash happened just before 11:30 a.m. The plane was heading South/Southwest towards Bartow Airport when it crash-landed into a residential neighborhood approximately 3/4 mile from the airport. The pilot had been in communication with the airport in preparation to land. There were no unusual or warning communications from the airplane.
The plane landed in the driveway of a residence in unincorporated Bartow. The couple was found deceased when Polk County Fire Rescue and Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived.
No one on the ground was injured. There is physical damage to the driveway, an oak tree in the yard, and the front chain-link fence. A window of a vehicle in the neighborhood was shattered when debris from the plane struck it.
A death investigation is being conducted by the PCSO. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the plane crash.
