Hilton Head, SCLast night a man out jogging along the Palmetto Dunes of Hilton Head, South Carolina, was killed instantly when a small plane in distress plowed into him while attempting an emergency landing. The pilot of the Experimental Lancair IV-P plane, who was flying with a single passenger, reported that the plane was experiencing mechanical difficulties, that the propeller had detached and there was oil on the windshield.
According to a report this morning from Fox News via the Associated Press (AP), the pilot reported that his aircraft had begun to leak oil at about 13,000 feet. A spokesperson for Hilton Head Island Fire and Rescue told AP that the pilot was originally trying to make it to Hilton Head Airport, but was unable to do so. As the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing on the beach near Hilton Head Marriott Resort and Spa, he collided into Robert Gary Jones of Woodstock, Georgia, who was jogging along the beach.
The oil on the windshield reportedly obstructed the pilot's view.
According to records from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aircraft was registered to Edward I. Smith of Chesapeake, Virginia. The four-seater turbine-powered plane, which can be built from a kit, took off from Orlando at 4:45 pm on March 15 and was bound for Virginia. AP referred to the Lancair website as indicating that the plane is capable of airspeeds reaching 370 miles per hour and that the IV-P model features a pressurized cabin.
The FAA is investigating. The two occupants of the plane, both male, were not injured. It was not known if the man who was killed was a guest of the nearby resort.