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Eyewitnesses describe moment five died after plane flew 'sort of crazy-like' and crashed in South Carolina

The single-engine Piper PA-32 crashed two miles northwest of the city’s Grand Stand Airport just a few minutes after taking off

MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA: Witnesses reportedly described the moment they saw a "horrific" plane crash which killed five people, near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Sunday, July 2. The single-engine Piper PA-32, with four people on board, veered sharply and crashed two miles northwest of the city’s Grand Stand Airport just a few minutes after taking off before 11.00 am.

Photos and videos posted online showed smoke emanating from the golf course near the ritzy Barefoot Landing area. Officer Pat Wilkinson told WPDE that North Myrtle Beach fire crew and police rushed to the scene after receiving a 911 call around 11.18 am. Upon their arrival, officers saw that the small plane was engulfed in flames and immediately began trying to douse the fire. Three passengers, including the pilot, were pronounced dead at the scene. One of the victims was rushed to a hospital, where they succumbed to his injuries. The Horry County Coroner’s Office said the identities of the victims will be released after informing their families.

‘The smoke was billowing’

NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have launched an investigation into the accident but the cause of the crash is not known yet. "Keep the victims in your prayers," Wilkinson said, adding, "We'll be assisting the investigating agencies as much as possible. Try to avoid the area, please. We will have officers guarding the scene."

Residents nearby, who witnessed the crash, took to social media to share their horror. One person said that he and his wife saw the plane spiraling downwards while they stopped at a red light. "I was sitting at a stoplight leaving Barefoot Landing and saw the plane circling and seemed to turn downward. I pointed it out to my wife and in seconds, the smoke was billowing. Emergency vehicles sped by," he wrote.

Iris Gaines, a local, told the Myrtle Beach Sun News that before the disaster, she saw the plane flying "sort of crazy-like" with one of its wings higher than the other. "It was so close over this condo," she told the newspaper. Another witness, identified as Julie Head, reported seeing a plane come down while traveling along Highway 31 in North Myrtle Beach close to Robert Edge Parkway. "My first thought was, 'Omg, what if it hit a house?', And, it was just, my heart was in my throat. I couldn't breathe. I felt completely helpless," Head told ABC 15 news. She said that witnessing the plane making a sharp head turn was "terrifying."

‘I heard the boom’

"Off to the right, I saw the plane out of the corner of my eye, and I turned, and I saw the plane do like a sharp banking turn, and it literally was standing straight up on the right wing," Head recalled, adding, "And then it kind of did a really sharp turn; it looked like it went upside down and behind the tree line. And then I heard the boom, and I immediately saw the smoke." Robert Katz, who has been a pilot for 10 years, said that he heard the conversation between air traffic controllers and the plane's pilot moments before the crash.

"There was no indication from the pilot that anything was wrong with his airplane," Katz said, adding, "I hear this pilot calling the tower at Grand Strand asking for a taxi to the runway - which is routine. A few minutes later he calls, 'ready for take off', that exchange again is routine, and he's cleared for take-off; and we don't hear from him again." He asserted that in his professional judgment, nothing indicated that the jet would crash soon after takeoff. He also noted that these planes were usually very reliable. "It's out of the ordinary. It's not something to be expected," he said.