A plane was about to take off from Venice Municipal Airport. Then it caught fire, city says

A small airplane with two people aboard caught fire shortly before it was set to take off from Venice Municipal Airport in Sarasota County on Sunday.

Around 1 p.m., a pilot and his passenger were in a Piper PA-32 Cherokee 6 on one of the airport’s runways, according to the City of Venice.

As they prepared to depart, the pilot smelled smoke, and both men exited the aircraft.

A fire quickly engulfed the plane, and it was fully ablaze by the time first responders arrived.

Venice Fire Rescue, Sarasota County Fire Department and the county’s hazmat team arrived on scene and worked together to extinguish the plane, the city said. The Venice Police Department also responded.

The plane’s 80-gallon fuel tank was full before the fire began, according to Venice Fire Battalion Chief Steve Worobel. The hazmat team was able to recover 30 gallons of fuel at the scene and prevent further burning.

The pilot and passenger were uninjured in the incident, according to airport director Mark Cervasio.

The Federal Aviation Administration will now investigate.

All travel at the airport is on hold for now, according to ABC Tampa.

The general aviation facility is located at 150 Airport Ave. E. in Venice. It houses about 200 aircraft, and roughly 60,000 take offs and landings occur at the airport annually, according to the city’s website.