Pilot killed in plane crash in Columbia neighborhood identified by coroner
The pilot who was killed in a plane crash in the Rosewood neighborhood of Columbia was publicly identified by the Richland County Coroner’s Office Thursday.
Farhad Rostampour died Wednesday when the small engine plane crashed in the 2900 block of Kennedy Street near South Maple Street, the coroner’s office said in a news release.
The 62-year-old Greenville resident was the only fatality reported by the coroner’s office.
The cover photo on Rostampour’s Facebook page is of an airplane’s control panel, and Rostampour said on the social media site that he liked the music of John Legend and Bruno Mars in addition to traveling, particularly skiing vacations.
The small plane, a single-engine Beechcraft BE-33, crashed as fog shrouded the area about 10:30 a.m.
The plane hit a home and caused a fire, before coming to rest in a backyard, according to the Columbia Police Department. Members of the Columbia Fire Department extinguished the flames, and no one on the ground was injured.
The crash happened close to the Jim Hamilton-LB Owens Airport, where officials believe the plane intended to land. The plane was believed to be traveling from Greenville to Columbia, according to Police Chief Skip Holbrook.
The plane that crashed was a single-engine Beechcraft BE-33, Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Kathleen Bergen said. A Beechcraft BE-33 left Greenville at 9:59 a.m., and was traveling to Columbia, where it was scheduled to land at 10:43 a.m., according to Greenville Downtown Airport Director Joe Frasher. The crash was reported to the Columbia Fire Department at 10:34 a.m., Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said.
An investigation into what caused the crash is being led by the National Transportation Safety Board, and inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration responded to the scene.
The coroner’s office said it is working with both the NTSB and FAA to investigate the crash.
It could take two weeks for a preliminary report to be issued, and 1 to 2 years before a final reported is released, NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss said.
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This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 1:28 PM.
