Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
St Petersburg-Clearwater Int'l Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Tampa, Florida 33602
Saturday, January 5, 2002 17:03 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The student pilot was instructed by his flight instructor to preflight the Cessna 172R airplane and then wait for the instructor before beginning the training flight. Witnesses stated that the student pilot proceeded to the airplane, removed the wing tie-downs, boarded the airplane, started the engine, and immediately taxied to runway 35R without the flight instructor The student pilot then took off from the runway without communicating with the airport Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower. The tower controllers stated that the airplane turned to the right and headed toward the southeast immediately after takeoff. No transponder signal was received from the airplane. The tower controllers notified Tampa ATC approach controllers, and they also notified the pilots of a Coast Guard helicopter that was flying in the local area. Additionally, the controllers made numerous attempts to contact the pilot by emergency radio frequency, but were unsuccessful. The Coast Guard helicopter pilots were asked to intercept the airplane. The airplane proceeded to a local Air Force military base and over flew the base control tower, two aircraft, and three hangars at a low altitude. The airplane was then observed to alter its heading toward a tall office building in the city of Tampa. While en route to the building, the Coast Guard helicopter pilots intercepted the airplane and attempted to signal the pilot to land. According to the helicopter pilots, the student pilot saw their hand gestures and gestured back to them; however, the helicopter pilots could not determine the kind and meaning of the gestures that the student pilot exhibited. Shortly thereafter, the airplane impacted the office building at the 28th-floor level. An examination of the airframe, systems, and engine did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunction. No indications of ethanol or drugs were found in specimens taken from the student pilot. A 2-page suicide note was found on the student pilot’s person.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's unauthorized use of an aircraft for the purpose of commiting suicide.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/5/2002 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1703 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Tampa |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33602 |
| Event Date Year | 2002 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 275459N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0824125W |
| Event Location Airport | St Petersburg-Clearwater Int'l |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PIE |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 10 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 30 |
| Airport Elevation | 11 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1736 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 300 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TPA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 11 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 2500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.15 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -72 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 12559 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jan 5 2002 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1845 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 16 2003 4:27PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Tampa FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2371N |
| NTSB Number | ATL02FA032 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | 172R |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 17280838 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2450 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 27 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 15.8 |
| Airframe Hours | 1721.3 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | National Aviation |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 14609 Airport Parkway Ste 209 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Clearwater |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33762 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | PIE |
| Departure City | St Petersburg |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1651 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 7 2002 3:16PM |
| User who most recently changed record | POWP |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |