One dead, another seriously injured, after plane crash in Lexington County
One person is dead, and another seriously injured, after a small aircraft crashed in Lexington County Friday morning, federal aviation authorities confirmed.
The Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, said a Cirrus SR22, a small, single-engine plane meant for only a handful of passengers, crashed just before 10 a.m. on Friday.
Two people were reported by the administration to be on board, according to a release. Lexington County officials confirmed in a Friday afternoon press conference that one passenger had died, and the other had been transported to the hospital in serious condition.
The crash happened along a wooded area in Gilbert, S.C., a rural town of about 500 people in Lexington County. The two-seater plane crashed into the woods about 700 feet down a dirt road near Windy Road and the Whiteplains Airport, a small private airport. If the aircraft had cleared the tree line, it would’ve crashed at the airport, county officials said.
The county’s communications center received a call around 9:17 a.m. about a plane in distress that was attempting to land at Whiteplains, the Lexington County Fire Chief Kyle Minick said.
It’s unclear where the plane was traveling from. County officials told The State the FAA would have that information. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will lead an investigation into the crash. No one on the ground was injured as a result of the crash, according to county officials.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 12:04 PM.
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