By Delayna Earley
The Island News
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) updated their preliminary investigation report about a plane crash involving a Beaufort woman in Colleton County in January with information submitted by the husband of the woman flying the plane.
The pilot, who also owned the Piper PA-28R-201 plane, was not available to be interviewed regarding the Jan. 2, 2024, plane crash due to her injuries, so her husband provided a written account of what happened for her.
The woman is not named in the report, but according to the Federal Aviation Association’s website, the plane is registered to Theresa McDonald of Beaufort.
Per the report, McDonald was communicating with Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station Radar Approach Control when she declared an emergency due to “engine failure.”
The controller she was communicating with offered her several landing options, but she was not able to comply due to time and end up crash landing on private property near Green Pond, S.C., in a pond.
The property owner told investigators that he was in his yard when he heard the plane hit several trees as it nose-dived into a small pond in his yard.
He said that the engine was no longer running when the plane struck the tree.
Following the crash, he ran to help the injured woman, who was the sole occupant of the plane.
The pilot was unconscious and suffered multiple injuries.
She was in critical condition when paramedics arrived and with help from bystanders, she was removed from the plane, transported to a CARE Flight medical helicopter nearby where they administered whole blood and airway management before flying her from the scene to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston.
According to preliminary Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) track data, McDonald took off from Runway 7 at the Beaufort Executive Airport (ARW) in Beaufort at around 10:54 a.m.
At around 2,800 feet, the airplane leveled for a short time before beginning a descent and making a left turn to start heading toward a westbound track.
Track data was lost at about 11:07 a.m. following continued descent and a decrease in groundspeed.
“Examination of photographs revealed that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine compartment, firewall and cockpit areas,” the report said.
There was no evidence of fire.
The right wing was impact damaged and partially separated and the left wing was submerged and not visible.
The NTSB recovered the plane and has retained it for further examination.
McDonald held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land.
According to the report, her most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued to her on Nov. 30, 2023, and she declared 300 total hours of flight experience at that time.
Delayna Earley formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
