Pilot dies in Hernando plane crash

SPRING HILL (FOX 13) - One person was killed when a small floatplane crashed into the backyard of a Hernando County home this morning.

According to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, the Cessna 206 crashed into a home's backyard on Coronado Drive near Whitewood Avenue in Spring Hill.

The resident was inside at the time.

“It was just me and my dogs and we heard a [buzzing] sound and then just a huge crash,” explained Beth Dell. “We didn’t know it was that close in proximity to the house until I walked outside and all the neighbors were rushing back to my backyard, and there it was. Just in a ball.”

No one was hurt on the ground. The sheriff's office says the pilot, Gary Cohen, 56, of Odessa, was killed in the crash. His next of kin has been notified. 

The plane was en route from Odessa to Orlando, but deputies say it was in contact with the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport tower before the crash.