- NTSB says the Tampa Executive Airport plane acknowledged IFR clearance before a steep left turn and crash.
- The aircraft lifted off halfway down the 5,000-foot runway at about 80 knots, then descended nose-first.
- Two people died, and investigators have not determined the cause after recovering the retained wreckage.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s NTSB preliminary report says a plane departing Tampa Executive Airport on September 3, 2026, acknowledged its IFR clearance before making a steep left turn and crashing. Two people aboard died.
The aircraft lifted off about halfway along the 5,000-foot runway at roughly 80 knots. It then turned sharply left, completed a 180-degree turn and descended nose-first into terrain.
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The flight was headed to North Carolina. Investigators received no further radio communication after takeoff.
Air traffic control heard the pilot correctly repeat the assigned departure instructions. The airplane was to fly runway heading 050° to 2,000 feet, then expect 17,000 feet 10 minutes after departure.
That sequence is now central to the early investigation. The preliminary account describes what happened, but it does not identify why the aircraft turned back toward the ground.
The aircraft was making a personal flight to Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It was an experimental, amateur-built Evolution assembled from a kit in 2020.
The aircraft completed its turn before reaching the wooded crash site
The airplane reached a ground speed of about 80 knots, or 92 mph, before the turn began. The report describes a steep 180-degree left maneuver after liftoff, followed by a nose-down impact.
The wreckage lay about one-third mile northwest of the runway 5 touchdown zone. The site was wooded and located within a state water management facility near the airport.
The debris trail measured about 70 feet. It began with severed tree branches, continued through ground scars and ended at the main wreckage.
The aircraft came to rest upside down. The impact sequence ended in a post-crash fire.
Fire damage limits the first examination of the airframe
Most of the composite airframe burned after impact, according to the preliminary account. The damage leaves investigators with a heavily affected wreckage site to examine.
The agency retained the wreckage for further examination. It has not determined the cause of the crash.
That finding keeps the clearance and flight path separate from any final conclusion. The report records the instructions the pilot acknowledged, the aircraft’s maneuver and the lack of additional transmissions, but it does not assign responsibility or identify a mechanical failure.
The pilot had instrument privileges and had begun model-specific training
| Record | Detail |
|---|---|
| Pilot certificate | Commercial pilot certificate |
| Airplane ratings | Single-engine land, single-engine sea and instrument airplane |
| Total flight hours | 1,203 hours when transition training began |
| Transition training | Began August 26, 2026 |
| Most recent condition inspection | August 26, 2026 |
| Airframe and engine time | 581 hours since new |
The pilot’s training records showed 1,203 total flight hours when initial transition training for the aircraft’s make and model began on August 26, 2026. The pilot held ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane single-engine sea and instrument airplane.
The airplane’s most recent condition inspection also occurred on August 26, 2026. Its airframe and engine had accumulated 581 hours since new.
Investigators will continue working from the retained wreckage and the recorded departure sequence. The preliminary report places the aircraft’s final known path between a correctly acknowledged clearance and the steep turn that preceded the crash.
