Merritt Island man identified as victim in Alabama plane crash

ATTALLA, Ala. – A Florida man has been identified as the victim in a fatal airplane crash in northeast Alabama.

Longtime pilot Elliott George Charles Leadlay, of Merritt Island, was killed in the crash, which occurred Saturday afternoon near Attalla.

Area residents called after hearing the sound of an airplane engine followed by a loud bang or boom, sheriff’s officials said.

Leadlay was the only person aboard, and officials say he was flying home after visiting a friend in Kentucky.

Investigators will determine a probable cause of the crash.