Ron DeSantis's Cessna Citation Latitude lands in Pinellas Park after 182 nm flight from Tallahassee

Ron DeSantis's Cessna Citation Latitude, tail number N943FL, landed at St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport (KPIE) in Pinellas Park at 19:16 UTC on Monday, October 26, 2026. The aircraft departed Tallahassee International Airport (KTLH) at 18:39 UTC, making the trip in 37 minutes. The flight covered a great-circle distance of 182 nautical miles, or 209 miles. The aircraft is registered to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and is used for executive transport.

The route from Tallahassee to Pinellas Park spanned 182 nm at an average ground speed of 291 knots. The highest altitude seen was 23,025 feet, and the top ground speed reached 442 knots. Based on our estimates, the flight burned about 144 US gallons of fuel and produced roughly 1,380 kg of CO2, about the same as driving a car 3,417 miles. The Cessna Citation Latitude is a super midsize jet with a range of 2,700 nm, a ceiling of 45,000 feet, and seating for up to nine passengers.

The aircraft is a 2019 model, serial 680A0234, powered by Safran Arrius 2B2 turbofans. Its maximum takeoff weight is 30,800 lbs. The Cessna Citation Latitude has a flat floor and G5000 avionics. This flight used about 7 percent of the aircraft's range. The departure runway at Tallahassee International Airport is 8,000 feet long at an elevation of 81 feet. The arrival runway at St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport is 9,730 feet long at an elevation of 11 feet.

This was the fourth landing at Pinellas Park in the tracked window of 40 flights since October 6, 2026. The previous landing there was on October 14, 12 days before this flight. The aircraft's home base is Tallahassee International Airport, and its most common destinations in the window were Tallahassee (17 landings), Pensacola (5 landings), and Destin (3 landings). Recent flights by the same owner include a Miami to Tallahassee trip on October 22, a Bainbridge to Miami leg on October 21, and a Boca Raton to Tallahassee flight on October 21. In the 24 hours before this landing, two other tracked aircraft arrived at Pinellas Park: a Gulfstream IV SP belonging to Alex Rodriguez, about 14 hours earlier, and a Dassault Falcon 900EX belonging to Outlaw Snax, about 2 hours earlier.

Before this flight, the aircraft had been on the ground for about three days. Its previous tracked landing was on October 23 at Tallahassee. The longest leg in the past 30 days was from Delray Beach to Philadelphia on October 6, covering 836 nautical miles. Recent flights by the same owner include a Tallahassee to Fort Myers trip on October 23, a Fort Myers to Tallahassee trip on October 23, and a Tallahassee to Tallahassee trip on October 23.

Ron DeSantis was inaugurated as the 46th Governor of Florida on January 8, 2019, and re-elected in 2022 with a 19-point margin. A former U.S. Navy JAG officer and U.S. Representative (2013–2018), DeSantis launched and withdrew from the 2024 Republican presidential primary before endorsing Donald Trump. The state-owned Cessna has drawn scrutiny in the past, particularly during the 2024 presidential campaign, when flight tracking showed it in early primary states. Florida law prohibits candidates from using state aircraft solely for campaign purposes. The arrival at St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport comes as no public event has been announced at the airport for the governor.

The flight adds another data point to the ongoing tracking of N943FL, which has logged 40 flights in the past 30 days, covering about 9,354 nm. The aircraft remains a key part of Florida's executive transport, and its movements will continue to be monitored by celebplanes.