Monday, September 26, 2022

Titan Tornado II, N709RD: Fatal accident occurred September 17, 2022 near Patch O Blue Airport (FD02), Citra, Marion County, Florida

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Orlando, Florida

Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances in a wooded area.  


Date: 17-SEP-22
Time: 22:51:00Z
Regis#: N709RD
Aircraft Make: EXPERIMENTAL
Aircraft Model: TITAN II
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Total Fatal: 2
Flight Crew: 1 Fatal 
Pax: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: DESTROYED
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: EN ROUTE (ENR)
Operation: 91
City: CITRA
State: FLORIDA

Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation may contact them by email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov. You can also call the NTSB Response Operations Center at 844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290.

Rolando Alberto Diaz
JANUARY 6, 1958 – SEPTEMBER 17, 2022



Rolando Alberto Diaz, 64, of Orlando, passed away on September 17, 2022.

He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on January 6, 1958, to Rolando Octavio Diaz and Felicita Vidal.

Rolando graduated from Dr. Santiago Veve Calzada High School in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, received a BA from Southern Illinois University, and an MBA from Colorado Technical University.

He married his college sweetheart, Wanda Socorro Recio, on March 30, 1979.

Rolando was a US Naval Aviator who proudly served for eighteen years. After retiring from the military, he began his career as a commercial airline pilot with American Eagle Airlines before transitioning to his position at Delta Air Lines, where he flew for twenty-three years.

He was a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association and the Airline Pilots Association. Throughout his life, he enjoyed piloting light aircraft, cycling, windsurfing, hang gliding, candle making, photography, remote control airplanes, and Fortnite.

Rolando is survived by his wife Wanda; daughters Carmen Marilia and Sonia Marie; son Ruben Alberto; granddaughters Maribel Elise and Julia Marie; and sisters Evelyn Vianette and Amarylis Lidiana.

Service will be held at Family Funeral Care on Monday, September 26, 2022, at 3:00pm. Come dressed in business casual attire, preferably in black or navy blue. In lieu of flowers, please consider making charitable donations to the Gary Sinise Foundation in support of veterans and first responders. https://www.garysinisefoundation.org

A livestream of the prayer service can be viewed here:



Rolando Alberto Diaz






MARION COUNTY, Florida — Marion County Sheriff's Office and Marion County Fire Rescue worked through the night to locate a deadly plane crash in northeastern Marion County Saturday night.

According to MCSO, the private plane crashed in a heavily wooded area between Citra and Orange Springs Saturday evening. Both occupants of the plane died in the crash. MCSO are investigating and the FAA has been notified of the crash.

In a statement, the FAA said:

"A single-engine Titan II crashed in a wooded area near Highway 318 in Citra, Fla., shortly before 7:00 p.m. local time Saturday. Two people were on board," FAA said in a statement.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide additional updates. Neither agency identifies people involved in aircraft accidents."

As the investigation is still ongoing, the aircraft's registration number has not yet been released.

Due to the crash happening in a remote, forested location, responders were seen on ATV's and the Marion County Sheriff's Office helicopter was used in the search overnight. We saw deputies and fire rescue crews staging their search in the area of E Hwy 318 and NE 217th Street Road late Saturday night.

4 comments:

  1. Aircraft looks like home built or ultralight or experimental plane . What is an experienced Delta Captain doing flying this type of plane. Sad way to end a career .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shame on you judging the way people chose to live.

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    2. Seriously? I can only imagine the pain the family is going through and you comment this?
      Unbelievable.

      Delete