Aircraft Went Down Last Week With Four People On Board

The wreckage of a Cessna 340 which went down in Virginia's Great Dismal Swamp last Thursday resulting in the fatal injury of four people on board has been removed from the swamp by local authorities.

The plane went down in a remote area of the swamp about seven miles from the nearest paved road. A bulldozer was required to clear a path about three-and-a-half miles from the nearest access road to the accident scene, according to television station WAVY.

The operation took several days. Crews worked through thick brush, mud, and swarms of yellow jackets to reach the scene of the accident.

It took more than a day for state police and other rescue personnel to locate the airplane. It was finally discovered by a helicopter pilot who was flying solo during a break in the weather.

Those on board the airplane, identified as pilot Ted Bradshaw, a retired firefighter from Sunrise, FL, his wife Mary Anne, and brother- and sister-in-law Charles and Diane Rodd, were flying from Florida to Virginia for Mary Anne and Diane's nephew's wedding on Thursday.

The wedding went on as scheduled, and WAVY reports that an hour after the ceremony the bride and groom were in the swamp helping to search for the missing airplane.

(Cessna 340 pictured in file photo. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov