Driver crashes car into a plane at airport, SRQ officials say

Two gates and a small plane were left with an undetermined amount of damage Wednesday night after someone drove through the gates, according to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport president and CEO Rick Piccolo.

A vehicle drove through a gate at the general aviation area of the airport around 9:37 p.m. Wednesday, causing damage to the gate, Piccolo said.

The vehicle continued, turned left beyond an aircraft hanger and went through a grassy area before it hit and damaged a small, single-engine propeller plane and kept going through another gate, he said.

The second gate was also damaged by the vehicle. The amount of damage to the gates has not been determined, according to Piccolo, but he expects it will not be cheap.

“The bigger issue will be damage to the aircraft,” Piccolo said.

The plane, he noted, is privately owned.

Jacob Kyser, vice president of Universal Flight Training, said they received a call around 10:17 p.m. from the airport’s operations center notifying them one of their planes was damaged in the incident.

The left flap needed repaired, but Kyser called it “very minor damage.” It was not immediately known how much the damage will cost to fix.

Universal Flight Training surveillance cameras also captured the incident on video.

Piccolo said someone was arrested by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in connection with the incident, but he did not have details on that person.

Randy Warren, spokesman for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, said the arrest made in connection with the airport incident was for a DUI.

“We got a call from SRQ police that they had an incident and were describing the vehicle to us and that’s when we were able to say we think we have the same lady,” Warren said.

According to the probable cause affidavit, the sheriff’s office was contacted about a reckless driver traveling north in the southbound lanes of 15th Street East before pulling into a parking lot. Deputies arrived and found the vehicle, which appeared to have “fresh damage to the front end.”

Deputies reported finding 39-year-old Mary Dostal in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, which was still running, and noted a “strong odor of alcohol.”

While talking to the deputy, Dostal said she thought she was in Ohio. Dostal staggered toward the deputy’s vehicle for field sobriety tests, according to the affidavit.

Breath samples from Dostal showed a blood alcohol content of 0.149 and 0.140, according to the affidavit. She was taken to the Manatee County jail.

Airport police will work with the sheriff’s office to determine charges, likely along the lines of criminal mischief, Piccolo said.

The airport has video of the incident as well.

Airport officials, including police, operations and maintenance personnel, were dispatched to the area when an alarm went off after the first gate was breached, according to Piccolo. The gates have been secured with chains.

This story was originally published November 29, 2018 at 11:04 AM.