On Sunday, July 2, at around 11:00 am, a devastating plane crash took place in the vicinity of the Barefoot Resort and Golf Club, near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
A single-engine Piper PA-32 airplane was seen plummeting to the ground. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the plane had five people on board. Dr. Joseph Farnese, 66, the pilot and owner of the plane, Tanique Cheu, 32, her son Sean Gardner, 7, as well as Odaycia Edwards, 17, all died at the scene of multiple traumatic and thermal injuries. Suzette Coleman-Edwards, 42, Odaycia’s mother, died in the hospital.
Images and video footage posted on social media displayed plumes of smoke originating from the golf course’s upscale Barefoot Landing area. One eyewitness, waiting at a red traffic light with his spouse, described the chilling sight of the airplane descending rapidly and becoming shrouded in smoke. In a response to this tragic event, local officials affirmed that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are currently examining the incident.
According to the Horry County coroner, the plane crashed one minute after take-off from Grand Strand Airport at 11:02. Emergency services were alerted to the situation soon after, leading North Myrtle Beach’s fire and police departments to the scene. Once they arrived, they found the small aircraft completely ablaze and quickly set about fighting the fire. Four passengers succumbed to their injuries at the scene, and the fifth at the hospital.
While investigations are underway, the cause of the accident remains unknown, and no information has been released about whether the pilot issued any distress calls before the crash.