FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A 24-year-old pilot from Fort Lauderdale was under investigation after abandoning a 1972 Cessna Skyhawk on Tuesday in Naples.

The Cessna Skyhawk departed shortly after 12:50 a.m. from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, circled several times over Fort Myers and again in Naples before arriving at Naples Airport shortly after 2:40 a.m., according to FlightAware data.

A spokesperson for the Naples Airport said they discovered the abandoned Cessna N20392 “resting nose-down in the grass next to a runway” at about 5 a.m. The airport’s traffic control tower is closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The airport’s spokesperson reported the pilot, Brianna Brown, “returned around midday” after a crew removed the disabled aircraft and placed it in a hangar.

“We have since learned that the pilot slid off the runway ... the pilot stated they notified staff,” Lt. Bryan McGinn, a spokesman for the Naples Police Department, wrote in a statement.

Police officers filed an incident report, and the airport’s authorities notified the Federal Aviation Administration. Brown wasn’t injured.

Local 10 News Senior Assignment Editor Frine Gomez contributed to this report.

Fort Lauderdale pilot under investigation over plane mystery

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