1 Dead in Crash at St. Pete-Clearwater Airport

One person is dead following a Wednesday morning crash at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.

According to airport spokeswoman Michele Routh, the pilot of a twin-engine plane lost control and crash landed on the side of a runway. The pilot, Marshall Barath, 24, of Nampa, Idaho, was the only one on the plane.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said it received reports of the crash at 11:50 a.m. When deputies arrived on the scene, they learned Barath’s Piper PA-30 took off from runway 36 and then crashed near a service road on the northeast section of the airport, an email to media from the agency stated.

“Witnesses told detectives that it appeared that the pilot of the plane was practicing a common ’touch and go’ maneuver when the plane crashed,” the email said.

The FAA and NTSB have taken over the investigation. The cause of the crash has not yet been identified.

Image via Shutterstock