Five people died in a small plane crash at a golf course near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The incident occurred on Sunday, July 2, around 11:00 am in the wooded area north of the Barefoot Resort and Golf Club. The aircraft, a single-engine Piper PA-32, was carrying five people, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Horry County coroner stated that the plane crashed one minute after take-off from Grand Strand Airport in Myrtle Beach.
Eyewitnesses posted photos and videos online showing smoke billowing from the golf course near the upscale Barefoot Landing area. Local authorities confirmed that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are actively investigating the crash.
Emergency responders, including North Myrtle Beach fire crews and police, responded to a distress call at approximately 11:18 am. They arrived to find the small plane fully engulfed in flames and immediately began efforts to extinguish the fire. Tragically, pronounced dead at the scene of multiple traumatic and thermal injuries were the pilot Dr. Joseph Farnese, 66, ironically an FAA-certified medical examiner, Tanique Cheu, 32, her son Sean Gardner, 7, and Odaycia Edwards, 17, while Suzette Coleman-Edwards, Odaycia’s mother, 42 was transported to a hospital and died there. All were from New Jersey.
Officer Pat Wilkinson urged the community to pray for the victims and requested that people avoid the area if possible. Law enforcement officers were deployed to secure the scene. A Twitter user described witnessing the plane spiraling downwards while he was waiting at a red light with his wife. The aircraft quickly became engulfed in smoke, and emergency vehicles were swiftly dispatched.
The cause of the crash has not been disclosed, and it is unknown whether the pilot had reported any issues prior to the crash.
