Individual Details
Freeman "Fred" Polk Jr.
(January 10, 1952 - June 25, 1999)
PILOT AND PASSENGER ARE KILLED IN CRASH
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg; Jun 26, 1999; Amy Ellis;
Full Text:
Copyright Times Publishing Co. Jun 26, 1999
A veteran flier and the son of a prominent rancher are killed when their plane goes down in the Panhandle during a storm. David Sullivan traded newspapers for flying lessons as a paperboy growing up in the shadow of the Army Air Forces base in Zephyrhills. At 16, he piloted his first plane, under the tutelage of World War II fighter pilots who called east Pasco home.
On Friday, Sullivan, 65, died doing what he loved. His twin-engine plane went down in dense woods in the Florida Panhandle during heavy thunderstorms. Sullivan, an Air Force veteran, and his passenger, Freeman "Freddie" Polk Jr., 47, were killed in the crash, which scattered debris across a 2-mile area of Black Water River State Forest, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.
"He loved flying and he was an excellent pilot," said his wife, Kathleen Sullivan. "I was hoping maybe he made it out, but I don't think so."
Sullivan, who ran an air taxi and air ambulance service in Zephyrhills, was on a business trip with Polk, son of prominent east Pasco businessman and rancher, Freeman Polk. The younger Polk worked for Phillips and Jordan, a Dade City construction firm. An employee at the company said Friday that Polk was en route to Mobile, Ala., to bid on a job.
Kathleen Sullivan said she had been expecting her husband home late Friday. Sullivan's Beechcraft King Air BE-90 took off from Zephyrhills Airport early Friday. The plane radioed the tower at Pensacola Regional Airport about 10:30 a.m. CDT to report it was having trouble and going down. A short time later, officials began receiving reports of smoke in the forest about 30 miles northeast of Pensacola. The plane is believed to have broken up in the air because there were several areas of debris on the ground.
"They found the fuselage of the plane, where the pilot sits, upside down in the muck," Kathleen Sullivan said. "That's all we know right now. They're not going to move it till the morning." The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the crash late Friday. Friday afternoon, friends streamed in and out of the large building on Air Park Road that houses the couple's charter flight service, AeroCenter, as well as their home.
David Sullivan was born and raised in Zephyrhills and left only briefly in the 1970s to attend Oklahoma State University, his wife said. He grew up near the Zephyrhills airport, which was a PF-51 training base during World War II. "This was his life," Kathleen Sullivan said. "He just loved to fly." In addition to his charter business, Sullivan often transported organs for life-saving transplants, his wife said.
Sullivan had three daughters and a stepdaughter. His mother celebrated her 93rd birthday this week.
Larry McIntyre, who works in the office of AeroCenter, said he initially hoped that Sullivan might have gotten out of the wreckage alive. Airport officials in Pensacola told him the seat belts were undone inside the cockpit. "David would never fly without his seat belts," McIntyre said. "That made me think maybe he flew it down and tried to land and get out. It doesn't look that way, though."
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg; Jun 26, 1999; Amy Ellis;
Full Text:
Copyright Times Publishing Co. Jun 26, 1999
A veteran flier and the son of a prominent rancher are killed when their plane goes down in the Panhandle during a storm. David Sullivan traded newspapers for flying lessons as a paperboy growing up in the shadow of the Army Air Forces base in Zephyrhills. At 16, he piloted his first plane, under the tutelage of World War II fighter pilots who called east Pasco home.
On Friday, Sullivan, 65, died doing what he loved. His twin-engine plane went down in dense woods in the Florida Panhandle during heavy thunderstorms. Sullivan, an Air Force veteran, and his passenger, Freeman "Freddie" Polk Jr., 47, were killed in the crash, which scattered debris across a 2-mile area of Black Water River State Forest, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.
"He loved flying and he was an excellent pilot," said his wife, Kathleen Sullivan. "I was hoping maybe he made it out, but I don't think so."
Sullivan, who ran an air taxi and air ambulance service in Zephyrhills, was on a business trip with Polk, son of prominent east Pasco businessman and rancher, Freeman Polk. The younger Polk worked for Phillips and Jordan, a Dade City construction firm. An employee at the company said Friday that Polk was en route to Mobile, Ala., to bid on a job.
Kathleen Sullivan said she had been expecting her husband home late Friday. Sullivan's Beechcraft King Air BE-90 took off from Zephyrhills Airport early Friday. The plane radioed the tower at Pensacola Regional Airport about 10:30 a.m. CDT to report it was having trouble and going down. A short time later, officials began receiving reports of smoke in the forest about 30 miles northeast of Pensacola. The plane is believed to have broken up in the air because there were several areas of debris on the ground.
"They found the fuselage of the plane, where the pilot sits, upside down in the muck," Kathleen Sullivan said. "That's all we know right now. They're not going to move it till the morning." The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the crash late Friday. Friday afternoon, friends streamed in and out of the large building on Air Park Road that houses the couple's charter flight service, AeroCenter, as well as their home.
David Sullivan was born and raised in Zephyrhills and left only briefly in the 1970s to attend Oklahoma State University, his wife said. He grew up near the Zephyrhills airport, which was a PF-51 training base during World War II. "This was his life," Kathleen Sullivan said. "He just loved to fly." In addition to his charter business, Sullivan often transported organs for life-saving transplants, his wife said.
Sullivan had three daughters and a stepdaughter. His mother celebrated her 93rd birthday this week.
Larry McIntyre, who works in the office of AeroCenter, said he initially hoped that Sullivan might have gotten out of the wreckage alive. Airport officials in Pensacola told him the seat belts were undone inside the cockpit. "David would never fly without his seat belts," McIntyre said. "That made me think maybe he flew it down and tried to land and get out. It doesn't look that way, though."
Events
| Birth | January 10, 1952 | issued Florida | |||
| Death | June 25, 1999 | ||||
| Burial | Sacred Heart Cemetery |
Families
| Spouse | Charlotte McCarthy |
| Child | Kelly Polk |
| Child | Shannon Polk |
| Child | Justin Polk |
| Father | Freeman Polk Sr. |