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Preliminary report issued in Pasco plane crash

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By LISA A. DAVIS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 3, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Thomas Scott Long was cleared by an air traffic controller to land on Runway 27 at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport about 8:15 p.m. Oct. 23.

He acknowledged the controller's clearance for a visual approach and then, about 30 seconds later, everything changed.

Long declared an emergency and asked the controller for help getting to the nearest airport, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board. He was directed to Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, but things quickly got worse.

"Engine out, engine out," Long said over the radio.

About four miles northeast of Runway 22 at Zephyrhills, the Piper Malibu Mirage plummeted from the sky, crashing into the woods below and bursting into flames. It left a 100-foot path of debris in its wake, including its left wing dangling from a tree.

All aboard were killed: Long, 44, of Hudson; Tina Copeland, 46, of Lakeland; and Copeland's 7-year-old daughter, Cami.

They had taken off from Gainesville Regional Airport in clear skies and no wind about 30 minutes before the crash in Pasco County, the report states.

The 11-year-old plane was last inspected in December. A cursory examination of the engine, which was installed in December, did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical malfunction. Further examination will be done.

"We have not concluded what contributed to this accident," said NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway.

Final reports are usually done 12 to 18 months after the crash, he said.

Long had a commercial pilot certificate and 2,750 hours flight time, of which 110 hours were in the same make and model as the single-engine, six-seat plane that crashed.

The plane was registered to Citrus Aviation of Lakeland. The company is registered to Robert Stallings, owner and president of Lakeland-based Stallings Crop Insurance. Stallings and Tina Copeland were married a week before the crash.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083.

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