Lake Little, 18, was practicing “touch and go” takeoffs and landings Saturday afternoon when the single engine plane went down.
An 18-year-old Mississippi pageant contestant and aspiring pilot died after the single-engine plane she was flying crashed on a golf course near a small airport owned by the University of Mississippi.
Lake Little was performing “touch and go” takeoffs and landings at the University-Oxford Airport on Saturday afternoon when the Civil Air Patrol-affiliated plane went down in the nearby Ole Miss Golf Course, University of Mississippi spokesperson Rod Guajardo said.
Little suffered serious burns and was airlifted to a Memphis-area trauma center, where she died from her wounds, Guajardo said. No one on the ground was injured.
Lake Little, 18, died after crashing her single-engine plane on a golf course while practicing takeoffs and landings in Mississippi.Mississippi Miss Hospitality Competition / via Facebook
Her brother, Patton Little, told NBC affiliate WMC that she loved to serve others. He said she had been on several aid trips to Belize and recently enlisted in the Air National Guard.
“She was a great sister. She was a great person. She was one of a kind,” he said.
The maneuvers Lake Little was performing Saturday were a part of one of the last tests she would have to complete before earning her pilot’s license, her brother said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash.
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