Updated: Victim named in SC airplane crash. What we know.
Shortly after taking off from the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, a pilot flying a small, single-engine plane alerted air traffic controllers they were experiencing engine issues at 8,000 feet in the air, according to the lead National Transportation Safety Board investigator looking into the crash.
Minutes later, the pilot, carrying one passenger, reported engine failure and requested an emergency landing at Whiteplains Airport in Lexington. But before they could make it, the plane crashed 1,800 feet short of the runway as it clipped trees, resulting in damage to both wing tips. Ultimately, the plane tumbled out of control and rolled about 200 feet before coming to a stop while flipped over, according to Aaron McCarter, an aviation accident investigator with the NTSB.
The passenger, identified as Andrew Frederick Nichols, 30 of Huntsville, Ala. by the Lexington County Coroner’s Office died in the crash while the pilot suffered critical injuries. As of 6 p.m. Friday, the identity of the deceased has not yet been released by the Lexington County Coroner’s Office. Meanwhile, the pilot remains in critical but stable condition, according to McCarter.
Flying a Cirrus SR22, the pilot departed from Columbia Metropolitan Airport at 9 a.m. en route to Decatur, Ala., McCarter said.
An investigation into exactly what caused the crash will not begin until mechanics disarm a ballistic parachute system — a safety device for small aircraft that uses a solid-fuel rocket to deploy a large parachute from a container, rapidly slowing and lowering the entire plane to the ground during emergencies, according to McCarter.
Once the parachute system has been disabled, McCarter said the plane will be transported to Griffith, Ga., for a thorough investigation, following an on-scene investigation that should last about 48 hours.
In all, a final crash report could take as much as 12 to 18 months to complete, according to McCarter.
‘I’ll be on scene here, including in Griffin, for about three or four days doing an examination,” McCarter said. “After that is done, I will head back to Washington, D.C., where we will be collating all the factual information that we’ve discovered on scene, (and decide) whether we need to send the engine to the manufacturer to be more thoroughly examined.
“It takes a while, because we want to make sure we get it right,” he continued.
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 7:50 PM.
