HOLT, Fla., May 4, 2025—A Mississippi man received minor injuries when the experimental aircraft he was flying crashed near a remote area of the gun range here today.

The aircraft accident was reported by members of the Element Training Complex on Cooper Lane around 1:25 p.m.

Ron Ladner was on his maiden flight from Holt’s Yellow River Airstrip on Log Lake Road in his newly purchased Challenger 1 ultralight experimental aircraft when he said he got caught in a gust of wind while too close to the ground.

He wasn’t able to regain altitude and the aircraft crashed through a section of the western fence line and landed on its wheels just over the fence on the neighboring property.

Ladner suffered minor injuries to his right wrist, a finger and ankle.

The plane sustained damage to its nose, front landing gear, left wing and wing right strut, among other damages.

Holt Fire District, Okaloosa County EMS and Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call; however, other than a couple of bandages, the pilot checked out OK.

A four-man team from Element was able to lift the aircraft and carry it a short distance out of the fence line and onto the range where the plane can be more easily accessible.

According to the pilot, the plane didn’t “weigh more than 300-350 pounds.”

The Challenger 1 is a single-seat “kit” aircraft manufactured by Quad City Ultralight Aircraft Corp. out of Moline, Ill. The one flown by Ladner had a rear propeller powered by a 52 horsepower, 2-cycle engine. He had just purchased the aircraft when the accident occurred.

The gun range closed down for the day for safety reasons to eliminate the chance of stray bullets landing near the crash site. The range will be closed tomorrow.