A nightmare came true for one family in Florida when a plane fell from the sky and crashed through the roof of a home.

The pilot of the flight was killed, but a trainee pilot and eight people inside the home all walked away with minor injuries.

“It was the day of miracles,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd during a press conference, referring to the fact that everyone inside the house survived.

The twin-engine aircraft fell into the house in Winter Haven, Florida, at around 1 p.m. while its pilot, James Wagner, 64, and his trainee, Timothy Sheehy, were practicing simulated engine failure training, Judd said.

The accident happened a short time after takeoff. Wagner died in the crash.

It’s unclear if the pair were actually simulating an engine failure at the time of the crash as well as who was piloting the aircraft, Judd said, adding that, regardless, the aircraft lost power and fell.

< PREVIOUS SLIDE SLIDE 1 of 3 NEXT SLIDE > A small aircraft with two people onboard crashed into a home in Winter Haven, Fla, Feb. 23, 2019. © WFTS

The plane crashed into the bedroom of 17-year-old Carmele Ngalamulume, pinning and trapping her against a wall until her brother, who was in the next bedroom, could run in and save her. There were three other children playing in the driveway of the house, according to Judd. Their mother was taking a shower when the plane dropped from the sky.

Authorities arrived on the scene within five minutes of receiving the call about the crash. Firefighters, the first on the scene, arrived to find Sheehy wandering around the area after walking out of the crash, Judd said.

Ngalamulume and Sheehy, 33, both suffered minor injuries.

“As tragic as it was for Mr. Wagner, it could have been much worse,” said Judd.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating and determining a probable cause for the incident, according to an FAA spokesman.</s>A nightmare came true for one family in Florida when a plane fell from the sky and crashed through the roof of a home."It was the day of miracles," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd during a press conference, referring to the fact that everyone inside the house survived.The twin-engine aircraft fell into the house in Winter Haven, Florida, at around 1 p.m. while its pilot, James Wagner, 64, and his trainee, Timothy Sheehy, wereJudd said.The accident happened a short time after takeoff. Wagner died in the crash.It's unclear if the pair were actually simulating an engine failure at the time of the crash as well as who was piloting the aircraft, Judd said, adding that, regardless, the aircraft lost power and fell.Their mother was taking a shower when the plane dropped from the sky.Authorities arrived on the scene within five minutes of receiving the call about the crash. Firefighters, the first on the scene, arrived to find Sheehy wandering around the area after walking out of the crash, Judd said.Ngalamulume and Sheehy, 33, both suffered minor injuries."As tragic as it was for Mr. Wagner, it could have been much worse," said Judd.The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating and determining a probable cause for the incident, according to an FAA spokesman.</s>WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP/WSVN) — An instructor pilot was killed after, federal authorities said, a small plane crashed into a Central Florida home.

Authorities said the crash took place near Winter Haven Regional Airport, at around 12:45 p.m., Saturday.

Officials said the pilot was instructing a student pilot when the aircraft lost power and crashed into an occupied home.

Investigators said the pilot was killed, while the student survived.

Speaking at a news conference, authorities said the plane crashed into a bedroom, trapping a girl inside. She was eventually freed and only suffered minor injuries.

Ansley Beach lives near the crash site and told the Miami Herald that she saw officials wheeling out a body covered in a tarp.

Beach said the pilot told them the plane had engine failure during takeoff.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

Copyright 2018 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>ChiccoDodiFC/iStock(WINTER HAVEN, Fla.) — What might be considered a nightmare for some people came true for one family in Florida when a plane fell from the sky and crashed through the roof of a home.

“It was the day of miracles,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd during a press conference, referring to the fact that everyone inside the plane and house survived.

The twin-engine aircraft fell into the house in Winter Haven, Florida, at around 1 p.m. while its pilot, James Wagner, 64, and his trainee, Timothy Sheehy, were practicing simulated engine failure training, Judd said. It happened only a short time after takeoff.

It’s unclear if the pair were actually simulating an engine failure at the time of the crash as well as who was piloting the aircraft, Judd said, adding that, regardless, the aircraft lost power and fell.

The plane crashed into the bedroom of 17-year-old Carmele Ngalamulume, pinning and trapping her against a wall until her brother, who was in the next bedroom, could run in and save her. There were three other children playing in the driveway of the house, according to Judd. Their mother was taking a shower when the plane dropped from the sky.

Authorities arrived on the scene within five minutes of receiving the call about the crash. Firefighters, the first on the scene, arrived to find Sheehy wandering around the area after walking out of the crash, Judd said.

“As tragic as it was for Mr. Wagner, it could have been much worse,” said Judd.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating and determining a probable cause for the incident, according to an FAA spokesman.</s>WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Authorities are beginning to fix the damage to a Winter Haven home from a plane crashing into it Saturday afternoon.

Deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office said the UC-1 Twin SeaBee plane had taken off from Gilbert Airport, which is across the road from the home. The crash killed James Wagner, the instructor pilot, and injured student pilot Timothy Sheehy and 17-year-old Carmelle Ngalamulume, who was in teh house, pinned to the wall of her room by the plane.

Sheehy suffered minor injuries and was able to exit the plane on his own and Ngalamulume was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.

A crane began lifting the plane out, tail end first, Sunday morning. A crowd gathered to watch the transport unfold.

Local pilot John Reed came by to take a look at the damage as a bystander. He thinks the plane likely came from a flight training school based out of the nearby airport.

Authorities said Wagner and Sheehy were attempting to practice how to safely pilot a plane in the case of engine failure. Reed said any problems with the exercise would have been frightening for anyone.

"It's just hard to guess what caused this," he said. "Any time a plane goes down, it's a sad day for us pilots and the community."

Officials from both the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are still investigating the crash to determine its ultimate cause.</s>WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - A small plane crashed into a home Saturday in Winter Haven, authorities said.

Rick Breitenfeldt, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said a STOL UC-1 aircraft with two people on board crashed just before 1 p.m.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.

This is a breaking news story. It will be updated.</s>Shortly after takeoff a twin-engine plane nose-dived into an Idylridge Drive home. Pilot James Wager of Lakeland was killed. Miraculously a trainee in plane and the family in house were not seriously injured.

WINTER HAVEN — A training flight turned tragic Saturday as a Lakeland pilot was killed after his plane nose-dived into a home shortly after takeoff from Winter Haven Regional Airport.

During a news conference near the crash site, Sheriff Grady Judd announced that 64-year-old James Wagner was killed when the UC-1 twin-engine SeaBee plane crashed into the roof of a home at 2735 Idylridge Drive about 12:43 p.m. Timothy Sheehy, a trainee in the plane during the flight with Wagner, miraculously walked away from the crash.

Janie Cowper, who lives in the neighborhood, witnessed the crash while she was riding her bicycle in the area.

The plane, she said, was "hovering, rocking back and forth," and was "unbelievably loud" as it was crashing. "I thought, oh my God, it was diving into the top of the house," she said. Prior to impact, she said the plane made a "loud bang, a pop." A girl next door ran out of her house, screaming, Cowper said. Neighbors came out to see what happened, and Cowper saw a man walking down the driveway, "pulling a bloody leg."

That man was Sheehy, a student pilot who had just flown in with a friend Saturday from Bozeman, Montana, for training.

Inside the house, a 17-year-old girl, Carmelle Ngalamulume, was in her bedroom when the plane crashed into her tiny 10x12 bedroom.

Her 20-year-old brother, Joel, who was in the next room, rushed in to try unsuccessfully to free his sister, who was pinned, folded up into the collapsed wall, according to Judd.

The girl was freed from the debris by emergency responders and taken to an area hospital where she was listed in stable condition late Saturday afternoon.

Their mother, Emerance, was in the bathroom taking a shower when the crash occurred. In addition, three other children, ages 15, 11 and 2, were playing in the driveway. Neither the mother nor the other children were injured.

"So as tragic as this was for Mr. Wagner, and it was tragic, it was a blessing today that we didn't have an entire family wiped out," Judd said during the news conference behind the home. He added that Sheehy was transported to an area hospital and treated for injuries that appear to be "minor."

Judd said "it was a miracle" that more people weren't injured or killed. "We are shocked at how minor (Carmelle's) injuries are, this is a 10x12 bedroom, and both she and that plane are in the bedroom at the same time — an unbelievable set of circumstances," Judd said.

Among the host of emergency personnel that responded was the Winter Haven Fire Department, which employed foam to the home because of the highly volatile fuel used by the plane. Another amazing occurrence was the plane did not catch fire.

Neighbors were seen hugging each other inside crime tape put up by the Sheriff's Office.

Richard Jones told The Ledger that he met Wagner 20 years ago while Wagner was a mechanic at the seaplane base at the Winter Haven airport.

"I flew with him, he was an excellent pilot," said Jones, who added "this was not pilot error."

Jones said the plane has the capability of landing on land or water. His wife, Nancy, joined him at the scene, and both were in tears. "He was really a nice man," Nancy said of Wagner.

Pilots at the scene are saying they think the pilot lost one engine on his multi-engine aircraft.

"A little altitude would have helped him land, but with an engine out ...," Jones said.

The investigation is still in the early stages, Judd said, and the details released Saturday may change as more information is learned.

"Their goal today was simulated engine failure training," said Judd, who added, "Let me underscore we do not know, at this time, if they were simulating engine failure when they crashed."

The crash scene will be held secure and the plane unmoved until the investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board is complete. Judd said the NTSB is scheduled to arrive Sunday.

Charlie Bird, the Winter Haven Chief of Public Safety, said he was proud of the joint effort between the Winter Haven police and fire departments and PCSO at the crash site. "There were heroes today that ran into a very dangerous situation," said Bird. Officers ran into the house, he said, upon learning that a teenager was trapped in the bedroom.

Chris and Kim Holsen, longtime residents near the airstrip behind the Idylridge Drive home, said, "We've lived here 20 years, we've never seen a plane crash into a home."

Evens LeBlanc, who lives across the street from the crash scene, said he has worried for some time about the planes going over the houses all the time.

Kathy Leigh Berkowitz can be reached at kberkowitz@theledger.com or at 863-802-7558. Follow her on Twitter @kberkowitzthel1.</s>Authorities say a flight instructor was killed and his pilot in training suffered minor injuries when their small plane lost power and crashed into a Florida home.

James Wagner was in the twin-engine plane with pilot in training, 33-year-old Timothy Sheehy of Montana, when the plane crashed into a home near Winter Haven Regional Airport on Saturday.

It's not clear who was flying the plane.

The two had planned to conduct a simulated engine failure but authorities don't know whether the crash happened during the training, The Orlando Sentinel reported.

Polk County Sheriff's officials say Wagner, the 64-year-old pilot, died in the crash.

Relatives said Wagner was an Air Force veteran who also worked as a pilot for singer Jimmy Buffett, WFTV-TV reported.

The plane landed near a bedroom, pinning a 17-year-old girl inside against a wall and leaving her with minor injuries.

'I mean this is probably a 10 by 12 bedroom and she and that plane are both in it at the same time,' Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

The girl's brother rushed into her room and tried to extricate her from the wreckage, but was unable to do so.

'The trainee pilot, actually walked out of the crash, if you can believe that,' Judd said.

'Walked out of the crash and was wandering around.'

Several others at the home, including three children, were not injured.

'As tragic as this was for Mr. Wagner, and it was tragic, it was a blessing today that we didn’t have an entire family wiped out,' Judd told reporters.

Firefighters were called to the scene after it became apparent that fuel was leaking and they needed to prevent the plane from igniting.

Rick Breitenfeldt, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, told WPLG-TV said the plane involved is a STOL UC-1 aircraft.</s>A newly-released recording of a 911 call reporting a plane's crashing into a home in Florida gives a sense of what a sheriff said was an "unbelievable scene."

A flight instructor, James Wagner, 64, was killed in the crash on Saturday, in Winter Haven, Florida.

A trainee pilot on board walked away with minor injuries and a teenage girl who lives at the home and who got pinned to the wall by the crash was in stable condition Monday at a local hospital.

Five other family members in and outside the home were uninjured, according to police.

"She's stuck in the wall," an unidentified man is heard saying to the emergency dispatcher on Saturday. "One guy is dead, and one lady is stuck in the wall."

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said authorities arrived to find Carmelle Ngalamulume, 17, pinned to a wall after the plane crashed into her family's home shortly after taking off from the nearby airport before 1 p.m. ET.

The instructor, Wagner, had taken Timothy Sheehy, 33, a student pilot, on a flight to practice a simulated engine failure, when their plane lost power and crashed into a residence, the sheriff's office said.

Wagner died at the scene and Sheehy had only minor injuries, according to police.

Ngalamulume was transferred to a local hospital where she remained in stable condition as of early Monday, police said.

"As tragic as this was for Mr. Wagner and his family, this could have been much, much worse. This crash is an unbelievable scene," the sheriff said.

At the time of the crash, three residents of the home, including the 17-year-old, were inside, and three children, ages 2, 11 and 15 years old, playing in the front yard.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced is own investigation into the crash on Saturday, while the National Transportation Safety Board said it will work to determine a probable cause.</s>MIAMI — Authorities say a flight instructor was killed when his small plane lost power and crashed into a Florida home.

James Wagner was in the twin-engine plane with pilot in training, 33-year-old Timothy Sheehy of Montana, when the plane crashed into a home near Winter Haven Regional Airport on Saturday. It's not clear who was flying the plane. The Orlando Sentinel reports the two had planned to conduct a simulated engine failure but authorities don't know whether the crash happened during the training.

Polk County Sheriff's officials say the 64-year-old pilot died in the crash. The plane landed near a bedroom, pinning a 17-year-old girl inside against a wall and leaving her with minor injuries. Sheely also had minor injuries.

Several others at the home, including three children, were not injured.
During a training exercise, a twin-engine aircraft crashes through the roof of a home in Winter Haven, Florida, shortly after takeoff. The pilot was killed. A trainee pilot and eight people in the house suffered minor injuries. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating.