2 die in Florida plane crash while filming zombie movie

USPA News - A small plane taking part in the production of a zombie movie crashed in north-central Florida on Sunday evening, killing both the pilot and passenger, officials said on Monday. The fixed-wing single-engine Rans RV-7 aircraft crashed at Monroe Park in Summerfield, a community near Ocala in Marion County.

According the Marion County Sheriff`s Office, the plane was being used by a movie crew in the filming of a low budget zombie flick. The Marion County Sheriff`s Office identified the pilot as 65-year old Dennis W. Monroe of Summerfield and the passenger as 70-year old Joseph L. Sardinas of The Villages. Both men were pronounced dead upon the arrival of emergency responders. According to local officials, Sardinas was filming the pilot during the flight as part of the movie production. Eyewitnesses told officials that soon after the plane banked a turn over the filming site, the engine stalled and the plane went down nose first into the grass airfield. Marion County Fire Rescue responded when several emergency calls came into the dispatch center at approximately 7:25 p.m. local time. Dispatch traced the call from the Southeast 140th Street area where they found the plane badly damaged, though it had not caught fire. It was not immediately known which production company was shooting a low budget zombie movie in Summerfield. Federal records showed the aircraft was registered to Monroe and was home-built in 2005. The scene was turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who will assist the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in conducting an investigation to determine probable cause of the crash.