Franklin County-This morning at approximately 11:45 a.m., the Indiana State Police along with the Batesville Police Department and Franklin County Sheriff’s Department responded to an ultralight plane crash in a wooded area near the Batesville Airport located near Three Mile Road and Enochsburg Road.
The initial investigation by Master Trooper Matt Haviland determined that an ultralight homemade single person aircraft being piloted by Terry C. Fruchtnicht, age 50, Osgood, Indiana took off from the airport and soon experienced a mechanical problem. The aircraft then went down in a heavily wooded area not far from the airport.
Fruchtnicht was the lone occupant of the aircraft. He was trapped in the aircraft for approximately thirty minutes while emergency crews got to him and were able to remove him from the aircraft. Fruchtnicht was conscious and alert at the scene. He suffered serious injuries and was flown by medical helicopter to the University of Cincinnati Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
As is typical in these types of investigations, the Federal Aviation Administration was contacted. The FAA sent investigators to the scene to conduct their investigation into the cause of the crash. Investigators spent approximately five hours at the scene today. The investigation is ongoing.
The Indiana State Police and the FAA were assisted by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, the Batesville Police Department, Batesville Fire Department, and Batesville EMS.
-30- SGT. STEPHEN WHEELES
