On May 9th, 2012 at approximately 11:16 a.m. members from the DeFuniak Springs Police responded to the DeFuniak Springs Airport in reference to a plane crash.
The small aircraft was located between the east and west bound runways. The pilot was pronounced dead on scene. He has been identified as Pablino Gutierrez 77 years of age of Fort Walton Beach.
The investigation at the time of this release indicated that the plane had lifted off the ground and shortly after doing so visibly showed unstable flight and crashed nose first.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have been notified and are scheduled to arrive within the next several hours. They will be responsible for determining the cause of the crash.
Lieutenant Tilman Mears
Special Operations Division Commander
mearstf@defuniakspringspolice.net