ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A preliminary report released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board said the pilot of a plane that crashed into a Clearwater mobile home park last month could not see the runway at Clearwater Airpark.

Three people were killed Feb. 1 when the small plane crashed into Bayshore Waters Mobile Home Park, just off U.S. 19 and south of the Clearwater Mall.

Tuesday’s report said the pilot couldn’t see the runway despite its lights being turned to their “highest intensity.”

Of the three people killed, one was in the plane, the other two were inside a home.

They were identified as Martha Parry, 86; Mary Ellen Pender, 54; and Jemin Patel, 54. Patel was the pilot.

Officials said the plane took off from Vero Beach and crashed just after 7 p.m.

“According to two individuals who were at CLW, the pilot broadcast on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) that he could not find the airport and asked them to turn on the runway lights which were already on from an airplane that had just landed,” the report said. 

“They also stated that after the pilot requested a second time to turn the runway lights on, the pilot-controlled runway lighting was changed to the highest intensity. Both individuals then heard the pilot announce he had a “fire.” The airplane’s location at that time was not determined, and the CTAF was not recorded.”

Air traffic control says when Patel asked a second time for the runway lights to be turned on, they boosted the lightning to the highest density.

At that point, the pilot said he had a fire and a short time later crashed into a couple of mobile homes.

Our partners at the Tampa Bay Times reported that Clearwater is unlike most other public general aviation airports in that it doesn’t have a rotating beacon.

That is a common feature that serves as a kind of lighthouse for planes at night, the Times said.

Map of the crash area