Fittipaldi Fractures Back In Plane Crash

Racing champion Emerson Fittipaldi fractured his lower back when the small plane he was piloting from his family citrus farm plunged 300 feet into a swamp.

The 50-year-old racer, one of Brazil’s most revered athletes and a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, was in stable condition but may need surgery. His 6-year-old son, Luca, the only other person on the plane, received minor scratches.

The ultralight plane crashed Sunday in Araraquara, Brazil, a citrus-growing region 220 miles northwest of Sao Paulo.

Fittipaldi told doctors the plane’s motor stalled, said Dr. Luiz Roberto Neves, clinical director at Sao Paulo Hospital in Araraquara.