TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) – A preliminary federal report says a small experimental plane turned sharply left shortly after taking off from Tampa Executive Airport before crashing Sept. 3, killing the pilot and a passenger.
The plane was headed to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Investigators said the aircraft lifted off about halfway down the airport’s 5,000-foot runway at a ground speed of about 80 knots, or 92 mph. It then made a 180-degree left turn while climbing and banking steeply before descending nose-first into the ground.
Two dead in small aircraft crash near Tampa Executive Airport
The crash happened in a wooded area of a state water management facility about one-third mile northwest of the runway. The aircraft came to rest upside down, and a fire after the crash destroyed much of it.
The NTSB said the pilot correctly repeated air traffic control’s takeoff instructions before departing. Investigators said they received no further communication from the plane after takeoff.
The aircraft was an amateur-built Evolution plane assembled from a kit in 2020, according to the report. It was on a personal flight.
The pilot and passenger died. Their names were not included in the preliminary report.
The NTSB has retained the wreckage for further examination. The agency has not determined what caused the crash.
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