Teen pilot dies following plane crash in Oxford
Recent high school graduate was Mississippi alderman’s daughter
Eighteen-year-old pilot Lake Little of Starkville, Mississippi, was fatally injured when the single-engine plane she was flying crashed Saturday afternoon on a golf course that’s next to a small airport in Oxford, Mississippi, university officials confirmed. The Starkville Daily News reported the young pilot was the daughter of a town alderman and was well-known in the town for pageant appearances as well as civic and academic achievements. Located south of Tupelo, Starkville is about 170 miles away from Memphis.
“The City of Starkville is saddened by the loss of Lake Little,” Starkville’s Mayor Lynn Spruill wrote on Twitter. “She was a star for us and had such a great plan for her life commitment to others. Flying was her love and her passion. Our thoughts and prayers to her family for comfort.”
She had graduated from Starkville Academy and was planning to attend the University of Southern Mississippi.
The pilot was performing “touch and go” landings at University-oxford Airport when the plane went down at about 3:15 p.m. Saturday near the 17th tee of The Ole Miss Golf Course, Ole Miss spokesman Rod Guajardo said in a statement.
The pilot suffered serious burns in the crash and was the only person on board, he said.
She was transported to a hospital in Memphis and later died. The university’s statement didn’t identify the hospital, but the Regional Medical Center handles the area’s most serious burn and trauma cases.
Guajardo wrote Sunday morning that the university police, working with Oxford Police and the Lafayette County Coroner’s Office, had confirmed the victim was Lake Little. He said investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are responding to the crash scene.
NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss said the plane that crashed was a Cessna 172, but he had little additional information. The agency plans to release a preliminary report on the crash within two weeks.
Investigative reporter Daniel Connolly welcomes tips and comments from the public. Reach him at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.