ST. SIMONS, Ga. – Officials with the Glynn County Police Department have preliminarily identified the pilot of the small plane that crashed on St. Simons Island Saturday as Roger Crane, 80, from Bluffton, South Carolina.
Early reports were that there were four passengers in the aircraft. Although the plane, a Cessna 182 fixed wing single-engine airplane, is designed to carry four passengers, investigators believe
the pilot was the only person onboard.
Brian Scott, chief of staff with the Glynn County Police Department said Crane was killed when the small plane crashed and caught fire on the North end of St. Simons Island at 9:25 a.m. Saturday morning in a wooded area off Lawrence Road.
"Fire personnel arrived on the scene, they found the area in the woods that was heavily taken over by fire. Once they got the fire out, they were able to confirm a plane crashed into the woods. Right now, we believe that plane to be a Cessna 182 fixed wing single-engine aircraft," Scott said. "The information we have is that plane was en route from Savannah, Georgia, to McKinnon Airport here on St. Simons Island."
After the fire was put out, blackened pieces of the plane were scattered along a wooded area with trees blackened by the fire.
The body of the pilot was seen taken away from the crash scene shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday.
There were no homes or bystanders affected by the plane crash according to authorities.
The FAA released the following statement: "A Cessna C182 aircraft crashed at McKinnon St Simons Island Airport in Brunswick, Ga., about 9:30 a.m. (Saturday). The aircraft took off from Savannah International Airport. The FAA will investigate and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will determine the probable cause of the accident."
