It was reported to be a Legacy - but there was a some confusion as to
the specific plane (even among the officials)... News articles stated it
was a "hunk of twisted, burning steel"... steel airplanes???
I was near the Lancair Tent at the time and the smoke (west of the airport
was visable). The airport was closed for about 15 minutes.
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=78169
The news text follows...
Lakeland, Florida— 44-year-old Gerald Schkolnik of Bluffton, SC has been
identified as the victim in Sunday morning's plane crash.
The aircraft took off from the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In at
the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Polk County. Sheriff’s investigators
are conducting a death investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration is
also on scene trying to determine why the plane crashed.
“There is nothing immediately clear as to what may have caused it. Whether
or not there was engine trouble, or it hit something, there was nothing in the
air that happened,” said Polk Sheriff’s Office spokesman Scott Wilder. “It’s a
mystery right now as to why it went down.”
The two seat Lancair Legacy crashed around 11:15 a.m. Sunday morning
about three quarters of a mile southwest of the runway near the 4400 block of
Hamilton Road. It was not immediately clear if the pilot was the only one on
board.
Witnesses described seeing a large plume of dark smoke immediately after
the plane made impact. The crash caused a small brush fire which was quickly
contained after fire rescue crews arrived.