Pilot Able To Swim To Safety

A Piper PA-18 owned by Sky Signs LLC of Conway, SC, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean Saturday while attempting to make a U-turn, ending upside down in the ocean some 100 feet from shore, reported the AP.

The pilot, who was the only occupant, was able to extricate himself from the plane and swim to the beach, according to Horry County Fire and Rescue spokesman Todd Cartner. He was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition with minor injuries Saturday afternoon.

The plane, added Cartner, floated in the ocean while officials were notified of the crash. US Coast Guard officials were also on the scene. The plane was eventually pulled ashore.

Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the FAA in Atlanta, said that the FAA and the NTSB would investigate the crash, which occurred just before 12:30 pm.

Banner planes are routine sights over Grand Strand beaches during the summer.

Officials say banner plane crashes are more likely to occur when the planes are picking up or dropping the banners and not flying a banner overhead advertising to beachgoers, according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News.

At least 15 banner-towing planes crashed in Horry County since 1986; most of those crashes occurred following a stall.

Two men were killed in May 2005 when their Sky Signs banner plane crashed near the company's landing field south of Conway. The pilot's failure to maintain speed, which led to a stall, was blamed for that crash. Another non-fatal crash occured in 2002, according to NTSB reports.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov