Pilot And Two Passengers Okay After Interrupted Charter Flight

The pilot of an air-taxi flight, enroute from Page Field (FMY) in Ft. Myers, FL to St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE), made a successful forced landing Friday night, touching down safely on a street in North Port, FL.

The aircraft was a Cirrus SR22, being operated by SATSair charter service as Aerocab flight SYK27. Neither the pilot nor his two passengers were injured.

According to WWSB-7 reports, North Port Fire Department officials said the plane came down shortly before 7 pm after its engine lost power. The pilot first intended to land on I-75, but ultimately chose to land near the intersection of Ponce De Leon Blvd. and N. Biscayne Dr. in North Port.

Officials stated the plane clipped some power lines on its approach, but landed safely. The road was closed into the evening until the FAA arrived on scene and the airplane could be removed.

An unnamed witness blogged, "I live a few miles away; I was outside with my son and I heard a plane that sounded like something was wrong, the sound of the engine was going up and down, up and down; I looked up in the sky trying to see it, but could not because of the cloud cover."

Based in Greenville, SC, SATSair (short for Smart Air Travel Solutions) is an air taxi service that operates a fleet of SR22s throughout the southeastern US.

FMI: www.satsair.com, www.faa.gov