Florida man killed in Etowah Co. plane crash

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Etowah Co. officials report the death of a Florida man after his plane crashed in an open field in the Sand Valley area of western Etowah County Saturday afternoon.

The Etowah Co. Sherriff’s office received a 911 call around 12:53 p.m. reporting that it sounded like a plane had crashed somewhere near Buster Willet Rd.

Deputies began searching the area when a second 911 call came in saying the crash site had been located in a open field behind a home in the 200 block of Kelley Lane off Sand Valley Rd.

First responders arrived to find pieces of a small plane scattered across an open field along with the remains of the pilot, identified as Elliot George Charles Leadlay of Merritt Island Fl.

According to Mr. Leadlay’s family he was an experienced pilot with decades of flying experience. Aviation officials and family confirm he was flying home to Florida after visiting a friend in Kentucky when the crash occurred.