Just after 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, a single engine plane attempting to land at Grand Strand Airport when something went terribly wrong. As explained by 2 nurses that were traveling along Hwy 17 near the Briarcliffe RV resort on Iris Street, “We were on our way to lunch, and I saw the plane come across the top of the trees, across Hwy 17, and it was at a very odd angle, and I thought ‘Hey, something’s not quite right here'”. The two nurses; Amy Frazier and Melinda McDaniel immediately did a u-turn after they saw a cloud of black smoke fill the air.
Amy Frazier explains the scene as they pull into the Briarcliffe RV Resort. “We pulled into the RV park; there was a lot of black smoke, flames. We could tell one of the RVs was destroyed at that point, and at that point a gentleman was walking from the rubble and looked very confused and disoriented and he was crying.” replays Frazier.
The Horry County Coroner Robert Edge has confirmed 2 deaths, one of which was the pilot. The other victim was a woman who has been identified as 70 year old Eve Sullivan of New Hampshire. Her husband was taken to the hospital for burns. Another victim was treated on the scene.
The black rudder and the tail of the plane are the only pieces of debris left from the crash. The entire front of the plane was destroyed.
An investigation will take place and will conduct a complete history of the pilot, including hours flown and experience as part of their investigation.
After the investigation, the wreckage will be taken to a secure location. A report will be compiled based on the information from the investigation. The report will then be reviewed by the lead investigator from the FAA in Atlanta, then a review from the board of the NTSB in Washington. On average, a plane crash investigation takes nine months to one year to complete.