Peter O. Knight Airport - Incidents

Incidents

• On February 20, 1975, professional wrestler Buddy Colt, while attempting to land in bad weather, crashed into Hillsborough Bay 200 yd (180 m) 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 a Extra 300 single engine plane was making its final approach. It hit a 50-foot (15 m) 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 C-17 of the US Air Force's 305th Air Mobility Wing, from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, part of the USAF's Air Mobility Command mistakenly landed at Peter O Knight airport. There were no injuries, and no damage to either the field or the aircraft itself. The aircraft took off a short time later, and made the short flight to MacDill Air Force Base, the aircraft's intended destination.