Mike Scott
21st September 2008, 05:13 AM
A private jet carrying six people crashed late Friday night at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, killing four and injuring performers Travis Barker and his performing partner DJ-AM.
The privately owned aircraft never got off the runway, crashing at the end near S.C. 302 around 11:55 p.m., airport spokesperson Lynne Douglas. The airport is currently closed to all arrivals and departures.
Officials said the plane carrying six people was departing shortly before midnight Friday when air traffic controllers reporting seeing sparks. The plane hurtled off the end of a runway and crashed through antennas and a fence. It came to rest on an embankment across a five-lane highway and was engulfed in flames, said Debbie Hersman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Lexington County Coroner Harry Harman said three men and a woman were killed, including the pilot.
Two of the victims of the airplane crash have been identified as the pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim Hills, California and co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, California.
The airport will remain closed indefinitely until the NTSB "gives us permission to clean up the runway," airport director Mike Flack said.
NTSB Investigators are still looking for the black box in their work collecting evidence in the Lear jet crash.
The plane, owned by Global Executive Aircraft, was manufactured in 2006 and certified to fly in 2007. It had been hired to fly to Van Nuys, Calif., Friday night. T
Investigators are looking at tire marks and other physical evidence in their quest to determine what caused the crash. As part of the routine investigation, they're also checking to see what the pilot and co-pilot had been doing for the past 72 hours.
"We haven't ruled anything out at this point," Hersman said.
The FBI also is helping with the investigation, which is routine. The next NTSB briefing is expected at 6:30 tonight.
The four who were killed all died at the scene, Flack said. Pieces of the plane broke off; the fuselage caught fire, he said.
"We've never had anything like this," Flack said.
The weather was cool, dry and clear at the time, he said.
The airport police and fire/rescue squad, Lexington County firefighters, sheriff's deputies and EMS, and city of Cayce Public Safety officers responded to the scene, Flack said.
Crash Pics and further detail
http://www.thestate.com/local/story/530614.html
The privately owned aircraft never got off the runway, crashing at the end near S.C. 302 around 11:55 p.m., airport spokesperson Lynne Douglas. The airport is currently closed to all arrivals and departures.
Officials said the plane carrying six people was departing shortly before midnight Friday when air traffic controllers reporting seeing sparks. The plane hurtled off the end of a runway and crashed through antennas and a fence. It came to rest on an embankment across a five-lane highway and was engulfed in flames, said Debbie Hersman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Lexington County Coroner Harry Harman said three men and a woman were killed, including the pilot.
Two of the victims of the airplane crash have been identified as the pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim Hills, California and co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, California.
The airport will remain closed indefinitely until the NTSB "gives us permission to clean up the runway," airport director Mike Flack said.
NTSB Investigators are still looking for the black box in their work collecting evidence in the Lear jet crash.
The plane, owned by Global Executive Aircraft, was manufactured in 2006 and certified to fly in 2007. It had been hired to fly to Van Nuys, Calif., Friday night. T
Investigators are looking at tire marks and other physical evidence in their quest to determine what caused the crash. As part of the routine investigation, they're also checking to see what the pilot and co-pilot had been doing for the past 72 hours.
"We haven't ruled anything out at this point," Hersman said.
The FBI also is helping with the investigation, which is routine. The next NTSB briefing is expected at 6:30 tonight.
The four who were killed all died at the scene, Flack said. Pieces of the plane broke off; the fuselage caught fire, he said.
"We've never had anything like this," Flack said.
The weather was cool, dry and clear at the time, he said.
The airport police and fire/rescue squad, Lexington County firefighters, sheriff's deputies and EMS, and city of Cayce Public Safety officers responded to the scene, Flack said.
Crash Pics and further detail
http://www.thestate.com/local/story/530614.html