DISASTER

Spartanburg-based plane crashes in Bahamas, three on board killed

staff reports
An image of the crash site from social media.

A plane registered to Spartanburg company crashed Tuesday afternoon in the Bahamas, killing all three people on board.

Delvin Major, chief air accident investigator for the Civil Aviation Authority of the Bahamas, told the Herald-Journal the plane crashed at about 4 p.m. Tuesday shortly after leaving Rock Sound International Airport, an airport in the South Eleuthera district of the Bahamas.

The small, twin-engine plane, a Cessna 421B, was headed to an airport in Fort Pierce, Florida, when it crashed, Major said.

The plane was about a mile north of the Rock Sound airfield when it went down.

Major said all three occupants were killed. The plane burst into flames on impact.

"The aircraft was destroyed, and the occupants were fatally injured," Major said. "... We will continue our investigation to try and determine what caused the crash."

The names of the three occupants have not been released, but Bahamas news outlets have been reporting that three Americans were killed.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane was registered to Hat Investments LLC, which shares an address with Palmetto Grading and Drainage of Spartanburg.

Todd Crawford, president of Palmetto Grading and Drainage, is a licensed pilot.

Representatives from the manufacturer of the plane and the engine will arrive Thursday at the scene as representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board to assist the CAAB with an investigation of the crash, Major said.