Update, Oct. 23 (10:40 a.m.) — Although a preliminary report is not expected for another 10 days, and the official cause may take more than a year to determine, the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday discussed some early findings from its investigation into Wednesday morning's crash.
NTSB investigator Shawn Etcher said the plane banked to the left after takeoff. Judging by marks found on trees near the wreckage, it appears the plane climbed to an altitude of at least 90 feet before crashing, he said.
Radar coverage does not begin until 500 feet, he said. "We know he (pilot Peter Radding) did not get to that altitude."
The temperature was 40 degrees and there was a calm wind at the time of takeoff, Etcher said. Weather has not been ruled out as a factor, however.
"We're not ruling anything out," he said. "We're just gathering information."
The wreckage is being taken to Atlanta for closer examination, Etcher said.
He said the engines are the most recognizable pieces among the wreckage. The aircraft's aluminum skin is gone, "but there's a lot of structure (in the frame) we can look at."
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Four men on their way to a ham radio competition in the Bahamas were killed in a small plane crash Wednesday morning at the Summerville Airport in Jedburg.
The Summerville-based plane — a twin-engine, six-seat Piper Aztec — burst into flames after it crashed into a densely-wooded area about 6:20 a.m., Dorchester County Administrator Jason Ward said.
The plane had just taken off from the county-owned airport on Greyback Road. Ward characterized the crash site, which was 250 yards east of the runway, as “extremely severe.”
County officials have said little about what may have caused the crash, instead deferring to the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington D.C., which is the lead investigating agency.
An investigator was at Summerville Airport Thursday morning and could remain there through Friday, NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said.
The wreckage itself may be transported to an off-site hangar, possibly in Atlanta, he said.
Typically, it takes the NTSB between 12 and 18 months to determine the cause of a crash, but a preliminary report is expected in five to 10 days, Holloway said.
Dorchester County Coroner Chris Nisbet on Wednesday identified the four victims: pilot Peter Radding of North Charleston; front passenger James Randolph Hargenradar of Summerville; rear passenger Edwin Steeble of Summerville; and rear passenger Dallas Carter of Laurel, Del.
Hargenradar was 55 years old, Nisbet said. The other men’s ages were not available at press time but they were said to be in their 50s or 60s.
They were headed first to Fort Pierce, Fla. then on to the Bahamas where they planned to attend a ham radio competition, Nisbet said.
Radding had flown to Delaware earlier this week to pick up Carter, Nisbet said.
The group was set to participate in the CQ World Wide DX Competition, a contest that draws the participation of thousands of amateur radio operators from around the world, said Jon Zaimes, a friend of Carter’s who lives in Delaware.
Many operators, including Zaimes, communicate from their home stations during the contest, but traveling to another country, like the Bahamas, scores a contestant more points, he said.
Zaimes did not know Hargenradar or Steeble, but he said Radding and Carter were “major league amateur radio operators, known around the world for their endeavors.”
Autopsies on all four men were scheduled for Thursday. Positive identification may require dental records, Nisbet said. Family members confirmed the men were planning to fly together Wednesday.
Radding’s plane — the only one scheduled to depart from Summerville Airport on Wednesday morning — was missing from his hangar, but his vehicle was there, as was Steeble’s, said Nisbet. Hargenradar’s wallet was found in the wreckage.
Nisbet said it appears the severity of the crash, not the fire, is what killed the men.
It was extremely dark when the plane took off, Ward said. Airport Manager Don Hay said the weather was clear at the time.
Nisbet said Radding filed a flight plan detailing his route and who was on board, but the plane never climbed high enough for those plans to be activated. Radding had 40 years experience flying planes and knew the area, Ward said.
Hargenradar also was a licensed pilot, according to Nisbet.
Stella Bazzle, who lives about a half-mile from the airport, recalled hearing two explosions around the time the plane went down.
“The motor sounded like it was coming over the house. I heard the first explosion . . . then the second (explosion) wasn’t as loud,” she said.
Of the engine noises, Bazzle said: “It was kind of a funny noise, like a grinding type thing.”
The crash was the fourth in the history of Summerville Airport and the third involving a plane, according to Ward. The other crash involved a helicopter.


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