NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Florida – A pilot suffered serious injuries Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 4, 2026, after a plane crashed into a wooded area off Turnbull Bay Road in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, prompting a search that ended when a Volusia Sheriff’s Office helicopter spotted the wreckage from the air.
The crash was reported around 2:22 p.m. by the New Smyrna Beach Air Traffic Control Tower, but the aircraft’s exact location was initially unknown.
Emergency crews searched the area on the ground without success until the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Air One helicopter arrived and located the crash site from overhead.
The Air One crew landed nearby and made contact with the pilot, who was conscious and talking despite suffering serious injuries. He was the only person aboard the aircraft.
Additional emergency personnel responded from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, New Smyrna Beach Police and Fire departments, Volusia County Fire Rescue and EMS, and the Port Orange Police Department.
Rescue crews extricated the injured pilot from the crash site. Air One then transported him to an area hospital for treatment of his injuries.