A single-engine airplane crashed into the deck and backyard of an Ohio house, and residents discovered the wreckage containing the deceased pilot when they returned home.
The residents weren’t there when the plane, a 2017 Titan Tornado II, went down sometime Sunday near Ravenna in Shalersville Township, roughly 30 miles southeast of Cleveland, investigators said.
It wasn’t clear how long the debris was in the yard on Nicodemus Road before the residents returned and spotted it Sunday evening.
Stephen Paulus (pictured), a pilot and married dad-of-two, was flying his single-engine airplane Sunday when he crashed into the deck and backyard of an Ohio house
Paulus’ 2017 Titan Tornado II plane (pictured) dropped out of the sky and destroyed the deck of a house in Shalersville Township
State Highway Patrol Sgt. Scott Louive told WOIO-TV that evidence at the scene indicated the aircraft didn’t have a sloped descent.
‘From the debris we saw back there, it doesn’t appear it was coming from any angle,’ he said. ‘It appears that it just dropped straight down.’
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
An autopsy was planned for the pilot, identified as 60-year-old Stephen Paulus, of Rootstown. He was alone in the plane, and no one else was hurt.
Authorities said Paulus may have crashed while returning to the nearby Portage County Regional Airport just down the road, where he had taken off earlier.
The Record-Courier reported that a man who identified himself as a friend of Paulus’ told investigators that the pilot had plan to enjoy a brief flight in his homemade aircraft.
A neighbor who lives across the street from the airport said he was stunned to learn of the crash.
‘I was home and did not hear a thing,’ Dave Shanley told WJW-TV. ‘It’s very quiet out here.’
The 60-year-old pilot was alone in the home-built aircraft, and no one else was hurt
Family members tell WKYC Paulus was a married father-of-two who worked as an electrician.
He was described as an experienced pilot who was passionate about flying.
As Cleveland.com first reported, According to Titan Tornado’s website, Paulus’ single-engine came from a kit.
The Tornado II is 19 feet long with a 23 1/2 foot wingspan, and takes approximately 150-300 hours to put together.