By Gene Crider
A person died after a plane crashed on Saturday morning in Orangeburg County.
The Beech 35 airplane crashed in a field 11 miles north of Orangeburg Municipal Airport after the pilot declared an emergency and reported engine failure, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
“The airplane was destroyed by post-accident fire. There was one person on board who suffered fatal injuries,” an NTSB statement said.
“The investigator is expected to arrive on-site tonight to begin the on-scene portion of the investigation. The investigator will document the accident site, airplane and gather witness statements and any surveillance video that may have captured any part of the accident flight. The investigator will also collect any flight track or radar data,” the statement said.
The crash site was located off Columbia Road. Multiple emergency vehicles were parked along Farnum Road outside Orangeburg on Saturday.
The plane was headed from Lowcountry Regional Airport in Walterboro to the Jim Hamilton-L.B. Owens Airport in Columbia, according to wltx.com.
Orangeburg County Coroner Samuetta Marshall said the victim is unidentified until the autopsy. The autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.
