A small plane crashed and caught fire early today near U.S. Highway 301 in Hillsborough County, sending firefighters racing to a scene just off one of the area's busiest corridors. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crews found the aircraft engulfed in flames when they arrived and worked to extinguish the blaze, with officials saying no information about injuries has been released.
The crash site sits just off U.S. 301 near the Southwest Florida Water Management District office, a short distance from Tampa Executive Airport, according to WTSP. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue is on scene of the aircraft fire near U.S. 301, and authorities placed a roadblock at U.S. 301 and Maislin Drive as crews worked the scene, according to WFLA. The plane is believed to have crashed, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, per that report.
Crews Extinguish Flames, Secure the Area
Fire units that arrived along U.S. Highway 301 North found the small plane fully engulfed before knocking down the fire, the Tampa Free Press reported. Emergency personnel remained on scene afterward to secure hazardous materials and manage the traffic roadblocks set up around the crash site, per the same account. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue scheduled an official media briefing at 7601 U.S. Highway 301 North in the East Lake-Orient Park area, the site of the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Tampa Service Office, to provide formal updates, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
Officials have not said whether anyone was hurt, and key details about the flight remain unknown, including the number and identity of any occupants and whether the aircraft was approaching or departing Tampa Executive Airport. WFLA credited its report to author Ashley Suter and published the story Thursday morning.
Airport Sits at Center of Growing General Aviation Traffic
Tampa Executive Airport, known by its identifier KVDF, sits about six nautical miles east of downtown Tampa near Interstate 75 and U.S. Highway 301, and features a 5,000-foot paved runway for general aviation operations, according to facility records maintained by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. The airport, operated by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority as a general aviation reliever field, has been expanding: Business Air News reported in May that Tampa Executive Airport launched a $6.4 million project to add four new hangar facilities amid rising demand from private and business aircraft.
Thursday's crash adds to a string of small aircraft incidents in eastern Hillsborough County this year. In March, a single-engine plane suffered mechanical issues and made an emergency landing near Weaver Lane and Rockhill Road, striking a power line and a tree before coming to rest, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office; the pilot was not injured. In April, a pilot was killed when a single-engine Cessna crashed into a backyard in Wesley Chapel shortly after taking off from Tampa North Aero Park, per CBS News. And in August, deputies responded to reports of a plane in distress near Interstate 75 in Gibsonton that turned out to be a false alarm caused by an aerobatic plane conducting maneuvers, according to Patch.
A History of Fatal Crashes at the Airport
Tampa Executive Airport has seen fatal incidents before. In June 2014, a 53-year-old pilot died when his Husky aerobatic plane nose-dived during takeoff at the airport, according to the Tampa Bay Times, prompting investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. Under standard federal procedure, the NTSB holds primary statutory authority over civil aviation accident investigations, but initial on-scene fact-gathering for small general aviation crashes like Thursday's is typically handled by local FAA inspectors, according to NTSB and AOPA procedural guidance.
No cause has been determined for Thursday's crash, and officials have not confirmed whether anyone aboard survived. Hoodline will update this story as Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, the FAA, and the NTSB release further information.
