Aircraft Found In River Near Charleston

A Cessna 340 with four aboard crashed in the Stono River near Charleston, SC yesterday killing all aboard. Reportedly the aircraft was circling for a second attempt at an IFR approach to Charleston Executive Airport around 13:30 local when the crash occurred.

The Associated Press reports the aircraft departed an airport in Rock Hill, SC around noon.

A witness in a nearby park claims to have heard the aircraft go down. Jennifer Passailaigue told the Charleston Post and Courier, "All you could hear was the engine and then a hard thud. In my mind, it was going up and down, sputtering, and then there was a loud thud."

The weather in the area was reported as light rain with 15 mph winds from the south.

The airport is situated west of the Stono River. The only straight-in instrument approaches to the airport serve runway 09.

Rescuers reportedly searched for four hours before finding an oil slick and debris in the river. Divers found and secured the wreckage about 50 feet from the river's bank.

Efforts to recover the victim's bodies were suspended at nightfall when divers deemed conditions in the 20-foot-deep murky waters and darkness too dangerous.

The victims remain unidentified.

The NTSB dispatched an investigator to the scene, but he is reportedly waiting until crews are able to recover the wreckage to begin his investigation.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.ntsb.gov