Dramatic Footage Shows Plane Crashing Into Ocean Near Myrtle Beach
A plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean mere feet from the shore of Myrtle Beach on Monday morning, startling beachgoers.
According to witnesses, the single engine Piper PA-18 banner plane started to experience trouble about two blocks before it crashed near 40th Avenue North at 11:35 a.m. As soon as the plane hit the water, people ran from the beach to help the pilot out of the wreckage.
“The banner plane was all of a sudden going down super fast and then it just hit the water and went under. A bunch of civilians came and sprang into action into the water,” witness Sue Boyd reported to WMBF. “My [companion] said, ‘Call 911.’ I called and I could see another woman was calling as well, and we reported it.”
Officials confirmed that the unidentified pilot was the only person on board. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital. The Federal Aviation Administration, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board, have been tasked with investigating the crash.
No one on the beach was injured, which many witnesses credit to the pilot’s quick thinking. “They said that he was concerned about [avoiding] people in the surf and on the shore. That he was trying to avoid [them] to make sure no one else was involved,” Phyllis Beachum, another witness, told WMBF.
The wreckage was finally removed around 4 p.m., when a tow truck hauled the plane out of the surf. Before it could be removed, its wings were shorn off.
The FAA released its preliminary report on Tuesday, though it ruled the cause of the crash as "unknown" pending further investigation. A report by WMBF uncovered that the plane's tail number has been involved in two previous crashes, in 1995 and 2009. Neither of those crashes resulted in injuries, though the plane did incur damage.
“The FAA investigates all accidents and bases our follow-up actions on the evidence. Speaking generally, we often increase our oversight of companies that experience multiple accidents or incidents in a certain period of time,” the administration said in a statement.