Pilot Dies After Crashing Experimental Plane in Oak Hill

OAK HILL, Fla. – 73 year-old Charles Alban is confirmed dead after crashing a homemade plane into a tree in Oak Hill on Tuesday. The bizarre incident occurred after Alban had traded planes with another individual, and was taking his new craft for a test flight. The plane, listed as a Taylor Monoplane, had been taxied up and down the runway by Alban multiple times before he finally attempted a takeoff. He got to speed, began to lift, before suddenly jolting left and colliding with a tree. Alban was alive immediately after the crash according to responders, and he was taken immediately to the hospital. He succumbed to his injuries some time thereafter. The incident occurred around 3:30 pm. Volusia Sheriff’s deputies arrived to the Blue Ridge Flightpark Airport in response, but later transferred the investigation to the National Transportation Sasfety Board and Federal Aviation Administration. Nothing about the plane was suspicious to Volusia Sheriff’s deputies when they took a look according to reports. Alban was reportedly planning to try and fly back to his home in Venice, Florida in the flight. It would turn out to be his last.