MELROSE, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say a man is in serious condition after the small plane he was flying crashed near Gainesville.
The Florida Highway Patrol says 20-year-old Abdulaziz Qoutrah of Daytona Beach was flying from Ormond Beach to Gainesville on Monday afternoon when the 1977 Cessna 152 aircraft experienced engine troubles and crashed in a heavily wooded and marshy area in Melrose.
Qoutrah was extricated from the plane and airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries. Officials say no one else was on the plane.
The Florida Highway Patrol and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.
