Peter O. Knight Airport

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Peter O. Knight Airport
IATA: TPF – ICAO: KTPF – FAA: TPF
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Hillsborough County Aviation Authority
Location		Tampa, Florida
Elevation AMSL		8 ft / 2 m
Coordinates		27°54′56″N, 82°26′58″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
3/21	3,405	1,038	Asphalt
17/35	2,688	819	Asphalt

Peter O. Knight Airport (IATA: TPF, ICAO: KTPF, FAA LID: TPF) is an airport on Davis Island, five minutes from downtown Tampa, Florida. Built as a Works Progress Administration project, it was Tampa's main airport from 1935 to 1945, and is still used by general aviation operators today because of its proximity to the central city. The airport was named for prominent attorney and businessman Peter O. Knight, namesake of Holland & Knight.

The local fixed base operator (FBO) was recently sold by Tampa Flying Service and is now operated by Atlas Aviation.

[edit] Incidents

On February 20, 1975, professional wrestler Buddy Colt, while attempting to land in bad weather, crashed into Hillsborough Bay 300 feet short of the runway. Passenger Robert Shoenberger ("Bobby Shane") was killed.

On June 12, 2006, a small aircraft attempting to make an emergency landing at the airport skidded off a runway ^[1], through a retaining fence, and into the residence of a local business owner, causing complete destruction of the home. The pilot, Steve Huisman, was killed and the co-pilot, Sean Lauder, was hospitalized with serious injuries. Only one person was in the house at the time of impact, escaping without injury.