Posted on 12/09/2004 12:29:07 PM PST by snopercod
WEST PELZER - Three people were killed when a single-engine corporate plane crashed about 10:20 a.m. in bad weather Thursday in a residential area outside Williamston, authorities said.
The flight plan of the plane, a Diamond A40 model registered to Accu-Pad, Inc., a silicone products manufacturer located at 1324 Harris Bridge Road in Anderson, remains unclear.
The plane clipped power lines and hit trees around an abandoned home on Hardwood Road before it began to disintegrate and hit the ground inside a field with a "catastrophic impact," Anderson County Public Safety Director Tommy Thompson said.
Identities of the three victims were not immediately released, although Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said one of the victims was the owner of Accu-Pad, Inc., who also was the owner of the plane and another was a business partner of the owner, both of whom are from Anderson. The third victim was a flight instructor from Greenville.
Mr. Thompson said there were no reports from the plan of any mechanical or fuel difficulties.
Donna Roberson was watching television inside her home with her roommate, Amy Abercrombie, just a few hundred feet from the crash site when she heard what she described as a "sputtering." She then heard an explosion as a power transformer exploded in her backyard.
The two of them joined a group of neighbors in rushing to the scene when they noticed plume of smoke and realized that a plane had gone down. The wreckage was in two pieces, with the engine aflame, separated from the fuselage.
Ms. Roberson, 47, a traveling trauma nurse with the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. said that the plane was totally destroyed on impact. They couldn’t offer any help to the passengers, who were already dead, she said.
"All you could see were parts of the plane. There was not a lot left," Ms. Roberson said. "I’ve seen a lot of stuff, but this was bad. There was nothing we could do."
West Pelzer Mayor Peggy Paxton said she saw "a big pile of rubble" at the crash site.
Ms. Abercrombie, 26, said she was thankful that the plane’s path took it slightly north of their rented home. "If it had been any closer, it would have hit us," she said.
Amid a cold, steady rain, crews with the West Pelzer Fire Department, Pelzer Rescue Squad and the Anderson County Hazardous Materials Team had secured the crash site by noon as they waited for investigators to arrive from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Hidden by trees in a hilly area, all that could be seen from the road was white pieces of plane debris stuck in the trees outside the abandoned home.
Mr. Thompson said that there were no reports of fuel trouble or mechanical difficulties before authorities received a 911 call at 10:22. He said the poor weather - at that time low clouds and steady drizzle - likely was a factor in the crash. Authorities were unable to confirm immediately why the plane was in the area.
Mr. Thompson said the FAA confirmed to him that the plane was on its way from Gainesville, Fla., to the Donaldson Airport in Greenville after diverting from the Anderson Regional Airport.
FAA spokesman Christopher White offered slightly different details, saying the plane left Craig Field in Jacksonville, Fla. and was headed for Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, but was diverted to the Donaldson airport.
Mr. Thompson said the pilot apparently was "more comfortable" trying to land at a larger airport in the conditions. The Anderson County Regional Airport instrument landing system, which helps pilots landing in low visibility, has been shut off for about a month during work on the extension of the airport’s main runway.
He said the family of the passengers had already been notified that the plane had been diverted, and were on the way to the Donaldson Center to meet them there.
First responders said the FAA and NTSB officials were preparing to stay overnight to complete their investigation. Two homes lost power as a result of the crash, including one home where a woman was listed as requiring oxygen, but emergency medical workers said her health was not in danger.
Emergency crews were diverting all non-residential traffic from Cherokee Road to Palmetto Road.
The body of the pilot was taken to Newberry for an autopsy as required by the NTSB.
The incident was the first fatal crash for the type of plane involved. The aircraft involved was manufactured in February and had state- of-the-art dual navigation and communications avionics.
Jim Campbell, editor in chief of Aero-News Network, an aviation newsletter, said the plane had an exceptional safety record, and was one of the leading contenders for Airplane of the Year.
"This particular aircraft design is remarkable in both the lack of incidents and the severity of the incidents," he said.
Mr. Campbell said he did not want to speculate about the reasons for the crash, but he said that much would depend on the level of instrument landing training the pilot had in poor visibility.
(Anderson Independent-Mail reporters Charmaine Smith and Emily Huigens contributed to this report.)
Nicholas Charalambous can be reached at (864) 260-1256 or by e-mail at
ping
Diamond DA40
I am typing this from about 40 miles West of the crash site, and the weather has been real crappy this morning. Thunderstorms, intermittent heavy rain, ground fog. Even the birds are grounded.
You are too quick, Sir!
Must be about a million people trying to download that picture from the AOPA all at once. It's taking forever to load up.
Bookmarked
It was raining cats and dogs in Greenville...
The plane was not built to handle falling cats and/or dogs... the FAA should look into it.
Maybe this is a dumb question...but does this craft also come in red stripes? I think I recognize it...and is it highly maneuverable, fun to fly?
Correct. Atlanta was in a program early today, around 600am due to Fog and than tstorms. We were in fact using Greenville-Spartanburg as an alternate for ATL. Prayers for the families of the crew and instructor..
The DA40 is an upsized version of the two-seat Katana. It is a very nice plane overall but in a spin it's scary.
It's not certified for spins and in the utility category is certified for 90 degree banks. With three aboard it exceeds the weight for utility category (2170 lbs).
Low clouds and drizzle aren't ideal, but doesn't sound bad enough to require instrument landing, at least from what's in the article.
Total situational awarness, hard to believe someone would CFIT in that bird.
Agree, but a "witness" reported sputtering engine sounds. Some run out of fuel on final, b/c they won't take time to re-fuel enroute, thinking they can make it.
Of course we have to consider the report filed by the 'reporter'. Squaks aren't reported on the flight plan, and the reporter's syntax and verb agreement are faulty; imagine that.
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