Doctor killed in Pasco County plane crash - WFLA-TV Newschannel 8

Doctor killed in Pasco County plane crash

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WESLEY CHAPEL, FL -

A Tennessee doctor with Tampa Bay roots was killed in a plane crash in Pasco County.

Harold Cameron MacManus was the only person in the plane that went down in a wooded area after taking off from Tampa North Aero Park on Sunday, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said.

MacManus grew up in the Land O'Lakes area and is the brother of News Channel 8 political analyst Dr. Susan MacManus.

"He'll be missed," Macmanus said. "I loved him dearly."

Susan MacManus said her brother – known as Cameron or "Dr. Mac" – was also beloved in the small Tennessee town where he practiced family medicine.

"My brother was great with elderly patients that came in his office and with little kids because he could entertain and he could smile and he could hug," she said.

Cameron MacManus was on his way back to Tennessee on Sunday after a weeklong visit with his family in Florida.

The search for him covered acres of trees and brush in a wooded area of Pasco County. The crash site was found around State Road 52 and Ehren Cutoff.

Tampa North Aero Park owner Keith Carver said he and a flight instructor took planes up over the area to look for the aircraft. He spotted the smoke from about 200 feet up.

"I radioed my flight instructor and told him to notify the authorities and I'd just keep searching the area in case there was a survivor and hopefully I'd spot him – and (I) never did," Carver said.

Soon after that, News Channel 8 Eagle 8 pilot reporter Judd Chapin was able to confirm the smoke was coming from burning wreckage on the ground, and helped emergency crews to locate the crash site.

The cause of the crash is under investigation and is being handled by the FAA and the NTSB.

MacManus had just gotten the plane he was flying several months ago, in part to be able to make quicker trips to his grandchildren, Susan MacManus said.

"I've never seen him, honestly, as happy as I've seen him lately since he had that airplane and could come home easily and visit his grandkids easily here," she said.

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