Small plane crashes in Eau Gallie.
A small prop plane may have suffered a mechanical issue before crashing in the parking lot of Renningers Flea Market on West Eau Gallie Boulevard Thursday night. The plane was preparing to land at Melbourne airport when the pilot informed the control tower that the aircraft was on emergency fuel and the pilot was attempting to restart the engine. Only one minor injury was reported. The plane struck power lines before coming to a rest in the flea market parking lot. About 1,000 households lost electricity due to the accident.
Cruise passenger goes overboard.
The search for a Norwegian Cruise Line passenger who went overboard Thursday on the way to the Bahamas has been called off. A 51-year-old man, who has not been identified, went overboard around 3 p.m. yesterday. The Norwegian Epic sailed out of Port Canaveral on December 21st.
Brevard County wants your input.
Brevard County Government is looking for your recommendations for improving county efficiency and effectiveness. The Speak Up Brevard initiative is accepting your input during the month of January. Recommendations from the public are reviewed by County staff and presented to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration. Residents can submit suggestions online at BrevardFL.gov
More drone shows cancelled.
The fallout from the falling drones at a holiday display in Orlando continues. The most recent customer to cancel a synchronized drone show is Universal Orlando. A drone show at Orlando World Center Marriott was also cancelled. A boy was critically injured on December 21st at Lake Eola in Orlando.
State leaders want to improve universities’ rankings.
The Board of Governor of Florida’s state university system set goals at a recent meeting. The top goal is to improve their rankings on the US News & World Report lists. The strategic plan also includes improving graduation rates and increasing research expenditures. But moving schools up in the rankings is the top priority. The goal is to get eight of the state’s 12 universities in the top 100 nationally. The board wants FSU to join the University of Florida in the top 10. And get UCF into the top 50 public universities.
Parker solar probe calls home.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made its closest approach to the Sun on December 24th. Following its record-breaking flight past the Sun, the solar probe transmitted a beacon tone back to Earth indicating it’s in good health and operating normally. The Parker Solar Probe was launched from the Cape in 2018 with the mission of taking measurements of the sun and tracing the origins of solar winds.
SpaceX to try again.
SpaceX is planning for a end-of-year doubleheader. After a rare last-second abort and then a early scrub, SpaceX will attempt to launch satellites for Astranis Space Technologies this weekend. The launch window opens at midnight Saturday and extends to 3AM Sunday. And then another midnight Falcon 9 launch is planned for Monday. That one is a Starlink mission. If both launches are successful that will break the record with 93 launches from Florida this year.
Weekend weather.
Here’s your weekend weather forecast. Saturday there’s a 20 percent chance of showers, otherwise mostly sunny with a high near 77. Sunday rain chances increase to 50% with a high again near 77.
