Plane crash kills hospital CEO

Last Thursday evening in Macon, Ga., Allen Golson, CEO of Coliseum Health System, spoke at his company’s awards banquet. This was to be his final speech as CEO, since he had accepted a position as CEO of Ocala Health Systems, including Ocala Regional Medical Center and West Marion Community Hospital.
At the dinner, he praised his wife for her support and praised health system workers.
He received a standing ovation from the crowd of about 200.
Friday morning, he and his wife, Carol, boarded his twin-engine six-seat Cessna to fly to Ocala. He told friends they were coming to Ocala “to look at some real estate.”
But as his plane circled to the south end of Ocala International Airport and made its final approach, something went terribly wrong.
As it approached 38th Street, the plane, witnesses said, suddenly veered to the left, possibly to avoid hitting the buildings on the north side of the street, and crash-landed in a field, catching fire upon impact.
Allen Golson, 55, was killed. His wife, Carol, 52, was pulled from the wreckage by nearby workers and survived. They were the only people on board.
The crash site is a short distance south of the airport, just southeast of the Ocala Regioanl Sportsplex, a little over a mile east of West Port High School and just over a mile north-northwest of Fairfield Village and The Centers on 60th Avenue.
The Macon Telegraph reported that investigators found that the landing gear was retracted, or in the “up” position, not down as you would expect from a plane about to land. The paper also said that the investigation showed that Carol was seated near the rear of the plane, not in the cockpit.
Golson had been in contact with the tower at OIA, indicating that he was on final approach. According to officials, he gave no indication of any trouble on board.
The Golsons had been married for 30 years after meeting at the University of Alabama. They had no children, but other relatives were in Ocala on Saturday to visit the crash site.
Carol Golson was released from the hospital on Monday.
The wreckage was taken to Gainesville on Saturday .

Marion County Sheriff's Office

The plane that carried Allen Golson and his wife, Carol, lies in a field off Southwest 38th Street.