PICTURED: Retired US Navy pilot and Vietnam War veteran, 77, who survived mid-air plane collision over Florida that killed another aviator
- A yellow plane and a red plane collided over Clay County in north Florida just after 11.36am
- Yellow RV-4 plane landed in a field and its pilot, David Dollarhide, 77, was airlifted to a hospital suffering from injuries
- Red plane ended up in tree line near a lake and its pilot, 74-year-old Robert Woolley, was pronounced dead
- Dollarhide is a retired US Navy pilot who served in Vietnam with Senator John McCain
Two planes flying over north Florida collided mid-air and landed near a Clay County farm this afternoon, killing one of the pilots and leaving the other injured.
The Federal Aviation Administration revealed in a statement the crash took place at 11.36am over Green Cove Springs, Florida.
At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, a Florida Highway Patrol official identified the pilot of a red plane who died in the crash as 74-year-old Robert Henry Woolley.
This is one of two small planes that collided mid-air over Clay County, Florida, late Wednesday morning
The owner of the plane, retired US Navy pilot David Dollarhide, 77, was able to land the plane and survived
Dollarhide’s plane is pictured in the middle of a field in Clay County, surrounded by first responders
This red plane was involved in the crash and came to rest in the tree line near a lake; its owner, Robert Woolley, 72, was killed
The pilot who managed to land his yellow RV-4 plane in a field near Penney Farms was identified as 77-year-old David Dollarhide.
It is believed that Woolley and Dollarhide knew each other and occasionally flew their planes in formation.
Dollarhide survived and was airlifted to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Video shot from an Action News Jax helicopter showed Dollarhide’s yellow plane restring in the middle of a field, surrounded by first responders.
Meanwhile, Woolley’s red plane was seen in the tree line near a lake.
According to officials, Dollarhide was taking off when he banked his RV-4 plane and collided with Woolley’s plane that was flying near Haller Airport, possibly shearing off one of its wings.
After landing his aircraft safely in the field, Dollarhide made a call to report the mid-air collision.
According to an oral history published by powmemomorial.org in 2017, Dollarhide is a retired US Navy pilot and a Vietnam War veteran who served in the same squadron as the late Senator John McCain.
After leaving the Navy, he worked for three different commercial airlines, including Pan Am and Delta, before retiring from aviation in 2002 at age 60.
Dollarhide is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the same squadron as the late Senator John McCain
Dollarhide has owned the fixed-wing single engine RV-4 plane pictured above since 2003
A year later, Dollarhide registered his yellow fixed-wing single-engine RV-4 plane, which he has been using to fly with other Navy veterans as part of their ‘Dreamland Squadron.’
‘We fly to lunch. We tail chase. We dog fight,’ Dollarhide recounted during the conversation recorded in 2017. ‘We go fly up in the mountains and camp and get up early in the morning and drink coffee around the fire and then jump in the airplanes and go fly to the nearest point of where we can find a great breakfast. Then we fly back into the mountains.’
According to the site flightaware..com, Dollarhide’s registration expires in 2021.
His son, also named David, followed in the veteran pilot’s footsteps and became a flight instructor.
Dollarhide’s daughter also got her pilot’s license but decided not to pursue a career in aviation, instead becoming a writer and producer for CNN in Atlanta.
According to public records and social media posts, Robert Woolley who was a retired US Air Force pilot who lived with wife Sandra in Green Cove Springs, Florida.
The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the fatal accident in Florida.