Bizarre tragedy unfolded in South Carolina.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: A former minor league baseball player and his father from Moncks County, South Carolina, were identified as the victims of Tuesday’s deadly military-civilian plane crash north of Charleston.
Joseph Johnson, 30, and Michael Johnson, 68, were both killed when their Cessna 150 and an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet collided about 25 miles north of Charleston, S.C., near the Berkeley County airport.
On Saturday, Jim Johnson and his wife, Beverly — Michael Johnson’s brother and sister-in-law — were found dead at their home in Missouri, according to the Associated Press. The couple’s 16-year-old grandson has been charged with second-degree murder in the murders, police said.
“It’s unbelievable. There just aren’t words to express it. I’m dumbfounded that it happened twice in a few days,” said Connie Stallwort, the men’s sister.
The F-16 pilot, Maj. Aaron Johnson, safely ejected and was taken to Joint Base Charleston for a health assessment, reported USA Today.
Col. Stephen Jost, commander of the 20th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, said Maj. Johnson “was flying solo, practicing instrument approaches to a military base and was communicating with Charleston air traffic controllers.”
National Transportation Safety Board investigator Dennis Diaz said Wednesday that the NTSB is working with multiple agencies to analyze debris to determine the cause of the crash and said a preliminary report would be available in five to 10 business days.
“Both aircraft had operable transponders that basically report back to the radar site the aircraft’s location and altitude,” Diaz said. “I know the data’s there, and we’re going to be reviewing it.”