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Pilot escapes after plane's takeoff ends with a water landing off Davis Islands

 
Tampa police divers were called to recover the plane, which hit tail first just short of Peter O. Knight Airport and flipped under water near Davis Islands on Sunday.
Tampa police divers were called to recover the plane, which hit tail first just short of Peter O. Knight Airport and flipped under water near Davis Islands on Sunday.
Published March 13, 2017

TAMPA — Those spending their Sunday afternoon at the Davis IslandYacht Club knew the small plane was in trouble the moment they spotted it.

The aircraft, a Piper PA-28 Cherokee, was less than 200 feet in the air when it started circling back to Peter O. Knight Airport just moments after takeoff, its engine already sputtering.

"It sounded terrible," said Robert Woithe, 14.

The plane didn't make it back, however. Seconds later Woithe saw it hit the water tail first, falling just short of the runway.

"It looked like it was going to snap in half," Woithe said.

It was worse than it looked, however. Tampa police said the pilot was the plane's lone occupant and managed to escape injury — and the plane, before it sank into the waters off Davis Islands.

The incident took place about 1:37 p.m. The pilot was not identified. Tampa police said the plane lost power shortly after takeoff and couldn't make it back to the airport in time.

Witnesses said the pilot opened the cockpit in time to swim away from the plane before it sank into the water.

A motorboat rushed over to pick the pilot out of the water.

A second boat, captained by Michael Zonnenberg, arrived and started tossing buoys into the water around the sinking plane so officials could find it later.

Zonnenberg, 24, of St. Petersburg is a sailing coach at the yacht club and was teaching kids at the moment of the crash. He does not know who was in the boat that rescued the pilot.

Woithe, who participated in the yacht club's Fireball and Friends Regatta earlier in the day, said he and other club members rushed to the water with life preservers just in case.

"I'm glad they weren't needed," he said.

Tampa police divers were sent to the scene to recover the plane. The plane flipped over under water and came to rest on its roof. The divers placed large balloons beneath the wings and inflated them, bringing the plane — wheels first — to the surface. Then they used the balloons and two boats to maneuver the plane to a nearby boat slip.

Police called in a heavy duty tow truck to lift the plane out of the water.

The plane will be transported and stored at the airport pending an investigation.

The National Safety Transportation Board will investigate the incident, police said.

Photographer Octavio Jones contributed to this report. Contact Paul Guzzo at pguzzo@tampabay.com. Follow @PGuzzoTimes.