Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

Small Va.-based plane crashes in SC

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A small plane crash on Monday sent three people to the hospital and caused a highway to be closed for a time.

The multiengine King Air B200 went down short of the runway at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport around 10:15 a.m., Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

Neal McGrail, chief operating officer for Stevens Aviation, said the plane had come to the Greenville-based company for service and was on a test flight when it crashed.

Two Stevens avionics technicians on the plane when it crashed were being treated at the hospital Monday. Derrick Holliday was in serious but stable condition, and Edward Wilk was listed in fair condition, McGrail said.

McGrail said the pilot, whose name he did not release, did not work for Stevens and was in serious but stable condition.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, and McGrail said he did not think the crash was related to any of the maintenance tests.

Stevens has been at the airport for about 60 years.

The plane crashed while attempting to land, hitting a guard rail and skipping over state Highway 14 before eventually landing on grass, airport spokeswoman Rosylin Weston told the Greenville News. No cars were hit, and the highway was later reopened.

The plane is registered to MDTR Holdings LLC in Virginia Beach, Va. FlightAware.com shows that the plane flew from Norfolk, Va., to Greenville Sunday night

There was no fire and the aircraft appeared to be intact, Weston said.

Stevens also operates in Denver, Nashville, Tenn., and Dayton, Ohio, according to the company's Web site.

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