| UPDATE - Clay County's Elvis Dawson, 53, is in much worse condition than reports indicated earlier.
Dawson crashed an ultra-light craft in Clay County at Nebo, not far from the Calhoun line.
The Clay Communicator says family members are saying he suffered multiple fractures and has been on a feeding tube and ventilator, indicating his recovery is long term.
ORIGINAL STORY - An inexperienced Clay County man piloting an ultralight aircraft crashed Sunday night near Nebo, and is surviving to tell the story.
Elvis Dawson, 53, of Ivydale, was coming in to land about 9:30 p.m. Sunday when he apparently hit a tree in Tanner School Hollow, according to Sgt. K.D. Horrocks of the Clay Detachment.
Dawson reportedly suffered multiple fractures, and was life-flighted to a hospital. He has non-life threatening injuries, police say.
Sgt. Horrocks said Dawson apparently didn't have much flight experience in the small, single-person aircraft.
Police indicated it is not necessary to have a pilot's license to fly an ultralight aircraft, with the craft falling under few regulations in the United States.
"Elvis (almost) left the county," according to a report by the Clay Communicator, "In serious need of a landing manual."
| 
