A flight school’s plane landing in Bradenton waters wasn’t the 1st incident. Here are the records
The emergency water landing of a Cirrus Aviation plane is not the first incident involving the Sarasota flight school’s aircraft over the years.
Just after 4 p.m. Tuesday, a 25-year-old pilot was forced to land in Sarasota Bay after reporting a lack of throttle and believing he could not make it to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.
The pilot, who was coming from Sebring, was able to land the Piper Warrior PA-28-151 about 40 feet offshore, behind a home in the 3000 block of Bay Road in Bayshore Gardens without being injured or causing any property damage.
Cirrus Aviation did not return calls from the Bradenton Herald for comment.
There have been four prior incidents involving Cirrus Aviation aircraft, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
Most recently on Feb. 22, 2018, during an instruction flight on Cessna 172S Skyhawk, an instructor pilot reported hearing a loud bang and a small amount of oil then appearing on the windshield while practicing basic maneuvers. The aircraft then lost power and the pilot declared an emergency and landed on a gravel road on private farmland in Myakka City.
There was no damage reported from that incident and the plane’s engine was replaced before later being flown off the farmland.
The school had two different incidents involving their planes reported in November 2016.
Just after takeoff on November 12, 2016, an instructor pilot and commercial student took off from the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in a Cessna 172S Skyhawk struck a bird despite their efforts to fly under the flock. The pilot was forced to immediately return to the airport and was able to land the plane without further incident.
The bird strike caused damage to the fiberglass wing tip cap and the closeout rib on the end of the wing, but that damage was considered minor.
Earlier in the month, on Nov. 3, 2016, the nose gear of a Piper Seneca II twin engine with two people on-board collapsed during a landing at Sarasota Bradenton International, causing the aircraft to slide 900 feet from where it touched down. The pilot reported that there had not been anything unusual during the flight but that it was not the first time that occurred with that make and model of aircraft.
Similarly, on Dec. 29, 2019, the nose of a Piper Cherokee Turbo Arrow III collapsed during a landing at SRQ, causing the aircraft to skid on the runway. Neither the instructor nor student pilot were hurt, but there was damage to the plane’s propeller, door assembly and to the sheet-metal underneath the nose of the plane.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
