A pilot was

airlifted to an Atlanta hospital Sunday after his plane

crashed at Falcon Field in Peachtree City, according to

Fire Department officials.

Bruce

Schmidt, 55, was flying what some people were calling an

experimental aircraft when the single-seat, single-engine

plane went down.

Peachtree

City Fire Department units first arrived on the scene at

11:36 a.m., about eight minutes after the initial 911

call, according to Capt. Ed Eiswerth.

The plane

was between the runway and the taxiway in a grassy area

when authorities arrived, Eiswerth said. Schmidt was

trapped in the cockpit, as the craft was up on its side

and half-flipped over on its back.

The plane

was not on fire, but there was a fuel leak, Eiswerth

said. After plugging the fuel leak, rescue workers pulled

the victim from the aircraft.

Schmidt was

stabilized by Peachtree City rescue personnel and then

turned over to a Phoenix Air unit out of Griffin, which

airlifted him to Atlanta Medical Center.

There was

no other person or structure in harm's way at the time of

the crash. "We did put down some foam lines in case

the fuel ignited, as a precautionary measure, but there

was no fire," said Eiswerth.

Investigators

from the Federal Aviation Administration worked at the

scene Sunday as well. The airport was "back to

normal 30 minutes after it happened," said airport

manager Jim Savage.

FAA

inspector Calvin Robinson said Monday afternoon that

there was nothing new concerning the investigation, and

none of the investigators had been able to speak with

Schmidt, who was still in the Intensive Care Unit at

Atlanta Medical Center at press time.

Robinson

said that the wreckage from the plane will be turned over

to a salvage area, probably by the pilot's insurance

company, and the FAA will request access to continue its

investigation, which will probably take at least several

weeks, he added.

Three

witnesses were listed on the Peachtree City Police

Department's initial report, according to a spokesman,

but their names could not be released because the

investigation was ongoing.

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