Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Patrol Operations Bureau
- Airport Unit

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

Robert A. Brandon (Injured)
DOB: 04/28/1950
Address: 2 Tristan Way, Pensacola, FL

What:
Pinellas deputies are assisting the FAA and the NTSB with a plane crash investigation that occurred at the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in Clearwater.  

When:
The incident occurred at about 1:19 p.m. on Saturday, November 25, 2017.

Where:
The crash occurred on runway 36, at the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport located at 14700 Terminal Boulevard  in Clearwater.

Why/How:
Pinellas deputies are assisting the FAA and the NTSB with a plane crash investigation that occurred at the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in Clearwater.  

At about 1:19 p.m. on Saturday, November 25, 2017, deputies received reports of a plane crash at the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport located at 14700 Terminal Boulevard in Clearwater.

Deputies responded to the north side of runway 36, where the 2005 single engine Piper Meridian fixed winged aircraft had crashed. The aircraft sustained significant damage and was lying in the grass just east of the runway.

Paramedics responded to the scene and transported the pilot, 67-year-old Robert Brandon of Pensacola, to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg for serious non-life-threatening injuries. Brandon was the only occupant in the plane.

Brandon informed deputies that he was headed to Pensacola when he took off from runway 36 at the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in the single engine aircraft. He was airborne traveling northbound when he started experiencing mechanical problems with the plane.

With intentions of landing the plane, deputies say Brandon turned the plane in a right eastbound direction when the plane crashed next to the runway.

The engine and both wings of the plane were damaged as a result of the crash.

The investigation into the cause of the crash is being investigated by the FAA and the NTSB. It has not yet been determined what caused the plane to crash.

The investigation continues.