Pilot Dies 4 Days After Small Plane Crash In SC

A pilot has died four days after his small plane crashed shortly after take-off in Jasper County. Coroner Martin Sauls III told The Island Packet of Hilton Head that 74-year-old James Parnell died Monday at a Savannah, Ga., hospital.

AP
Published: March 3, 2009

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RIDGELAND, S.C. (AP) - A pilot has died four days after his small plane crashed shortly after take-off in Jasper County.

Coroner Martin Sauls III told The Island Packet of Hilton Head that 74-year-old James Parnell died Monday at a Savannah, Ga., hospital.

Authorities say Parnell’s Piper Cherokee 140 began sputtering shortly after take-off from the Ridgeland airport on Thursday. Parnell was trying to return to the airport when witnesses said it suddenly dropped and crashed so hard the wheels snapped off.

Ridgeland airport director Claude Dean says Parnell appeared to be taking a short flight with his son. Authorities say Mike Parnell broke several bones and remains in the hospital.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.