• On September 13, 1945, a
Lockheed 18-50 Lodestar (NC33349) of
National Airlines with 14 onboard, was landing on a flight from
Miami while the runway was wet from rain; the plane could not decelerate, forcing the pilot to do a full left rudder and ground-loop. The plane went off the runway and the nose ended up in the water; there were no fatalities, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. • On February 20, 1975, professional wrestler Buddy Colt, while attempting to land in bad weather, crashed into Hillsborough Bay short of the runway. Passenger Robert Shoenberger ("Bobby Shane") was killed., • On June 12, 2006, a
King Air 90 attempting to make an
emergency landing at the airport skidded off a runway, through a retaining fence, and into the residence of a local business owner, causing complete destruction of the home. The pilot, Steve Huisman, was killed and the co-pilot, Sean Lauder, was hospitalized with serious injuries. Only one person was in the house at the time of impact, escaping without injury. The home was later demolished and rebuilt by
ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. • On November 28, 2008, a local
plastic surgeon and a 19-year-old man were injured when an
Extra 300 single engine plane was making its
final approach. It hit a
sailboat mast and hit the seawall before the runway. The plane flipped onto a grassy area short of the runway. • On July 20, 2012, a
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III of the U.S. Air Force's
305th Air Mobility Wing, from
McGuire Air Force Base,
New Jersey mistakenly landed at Peter O. Knight Airport following an extended duration flight from Europe, to a location in Southwest Asia to embark military passengers, and then return to the United States. There were no injuries and no damage to either the airfield's runway or to the aircraft. Although the C-17 is a large aircraft, it is designed for operation from airfields as short as 3,500 ft and consequently it took off a short time later with ease and made the short flight to
MacDill Air Force Base, the aircraft's original intended destination. With both airfields only a few miles apart and both of the main runways having the same magnetic heading, the Air Force blamed the mistaken landing on a combination of pilot error and fatigue. • On March 18, 2016, a twin-engine Cessna 340A crashed, killing both the ATP rated pilot and private rated co-pilot. The 340 and a Cessna 172M took off on Runways 4 and 36 respectively. These two runways intersect at their northern section. The 172 had already begun its ascent as the 340 started its takeoff roll. The 340 attempted to avoid a collision and entered a steep left-hand bank and impacted the ground inverted. The aircraft was destroyed in the post-crash fire. The two aircraft did not collide and the 172 flew to its home airport of Tampa Executive. • On December 29, 2022, a
helicopter crashed into Hillsborough Bay on approach to the airport. All four occupants were rescued safely by
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Blaine Gabbert and his brothers, who transported them on
jet skis to marine rescue boats. ==World War II==