SARASOTA, FLA. — Venice Municipal Airport has seen its share of fatal crashes in recent years.
While it’s too early to know what caused Wednesday night’s crash, the I-Team has learned the airport’s location has played a role in previous tragedies.
The crash that killed two Indiana couples Wednesday night came just months after a family of three died when their plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico near the same airport.
A preliminary report by the NTSB for that December crash says a “lack of a discernable horizon” during takeout likely contributed to that crash.
“It’s just a pitch-black void of nothing.”
The pilots in both crashes used runway 23, which faces the Gulf.
“It can be challenging when you have airports near water when you take off into water essentially,” said pilot Matt Farren.
Farren, now a commercial aviation pilot, previously worked as a flight instructor in St. Petersburg.
He says taking off over water at night can be incredibly challenging since getting your bearings is difficult when you can’t visually detect where water meets the skyline.
Farren says that’s especially true for pilots who don’t have extensive training and experience.
“It’s just a pitch-black void of nothing,” he said. “And if pilots aren’t trained and if pilots aren’t trained and if they don’t have an instrument ticket… they’re not used to flying solely on their instruments… they can get in a lot of trouble really quick.”
Farren doesn’t know if that was the case Wednesday night since a full moon may have helped with visibility.
But the I-Team has uncovered the NTSB has blamed multiple crashes at Venice Municipal Airport in the past on “spatial disorientation” over the Gulf.
Runway closest to Gulf preferred at night
Even though the airport has multiple runways, the airport encourages pilots to use Runway 23, facing the Gulf, for night takeoffs during good weather.
That’s part of a noise abatement program to minimize plane engine noise during night hours.
“People will move to a place and buy and a home near an airport that has always been there… forever… and then they’ll get upset and complain about the noise. Well, you bought a house next to an airport, so what were you expecting to happen there?” Ferren said.
Since the Venice Municipal Airport is not a tower-controlled airport but a pilot-controlled airport, pilots have the freedom to use whichever runway they deem most suitable, despite the airport notes recommending Runway 23 at night.
The latest crash is still under investigation.
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