Kenneth Tollett
Photo Credit: Rest with the Angels Kenneth Tollett, Facebook
The Berkeley County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the wreckage of a Cessna 150.
The plane was found at about noon today near the Berkeley County Airport in Moncks Corner, according to the FAA. The plane is owned by Kenneth W. Tollett of Moncks Corner.
According to several news outlets, Tollett left on Oct. 13 and was reported missing on Monday. The Post and Courier reports that a body was found in the wreckage.
A Facebook page had been created to support the search for Tollett with just over 100 followers. Late Thursday afternoon, the title of the page was changed to "Rest with the Angels Kenneth Tollett."
He regularly flew his Cessna to locations out of state and the plane was missing from the hangar. Tollett, 65, of Pinopolis, is a former Berkeley High School history teacher.
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A Moncks Corner man is dead after crashing his single engine Cessna airplane near the Berkeley County Airport, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office announced. An aerial search on Thursday morning utilizing both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters resulted in the location of a plane that crashed in a wooded area just outside the perimeter of the Berkeley County Airport. The BCSO, with the assistance of SLED, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, the Civil Air Patrol and Berkeley County Emergency Preparedness, had been searching for a man who was reported missing on Oct. 24.
The following information obtained through a Google search:
The following information obtained through a Google search:
It is with a heavy heart that I ask for your help. This is my friends father.
Kenneth Tollett
Age 65
Retired public school teacher
Wife passed away when children were very young. He was a wonderful single dad.
What we know ..
They tried to report missing earlier but they were rebuffed by local authorities.
This is a quick copy paste from family below..
Kenneth W. Tollett, last seen afternoon of 10/13/11. Vehicle parked at Berkeley County Airport in Moncks Corner, SC and plane missing from hangar - Cessna 150, N3086X, white with blue stripe.
Info we do know: he left his fiancée's home approximately 2:30pm on Thursday, 10/13/11, and apparently headed to the airport prior to class. He was part of the aviation mechanics program at Trident Technical College which meets Mon-Fri 5p-9p, but classmate doesn't recall seeing Dad in class that night. No flight plan was filed - most likely he was just being followed by the towers in various airspace and we can only assume that he wanted to take the plane up to keep fluids and such moving and gears all working since he hasn't been doing many flights recently. Last annual on the plane was completed in July 2011. His cell phone is either turned off or the battery is dead, as calls are going straight to voicemail, and his phone charger is still at his home. The plane's transponder has not sent out any signals to the FAA that the plane has been downed. Dad has been in good spirits and has not exhibited any signs of psychological distress. He often practices his emergency skills such as stalls and short-field landings, and currently has a VFR flight rating. He is on coumadin, a blood-thinning medication, and as far as we know he is without medications since 10/13
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His fiancée had Verizon trace the phone and they told her the battery was dead because it was going to voicemail, and the last call was one from her on the 11th, I believe. And he hadn't checked or erased his answering machine messages since the 11th as well.
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No contact with FBO that I know of, but his plane can take either auto fuel or aero fuel so he often fills gas cans at the gas station rather than filling from the airport unless he's somewhere and has no option. No flight plan filed, but weather briefing is a possibility to check out - thanks!
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Updated info:
- FAA continues to report no signals received showing that a plane has been downed
- SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) is planning to get the big choppers out on Thurs 10/27 to conduct aerial searches throughout the day
- Dad's finances were accessed but have shown no activity during the time he has been missing
- His cell phone was pinged and they received a 1.1 signal, very low, which shows that the phone battery is dead, and is not in water since phones are supposed to automatically cut off once they hit water
- He has been active in his aviation mechanics program at Trident Technical College, which meets Mon-Fri from 5pm-9pm, and when he left Jan's house on 10/13 at 2:30pm, he had a packed lunch in anticipation for attending class. This tells us that he likely wasn't planning to take an actual trip in the plane. A classmate mentioned that Dad was usually early to class and often shared with the class his plans for upcoming trips and vacations.
- Jan reported that Dad had recently been seen by his medical doctors and given an overall clean bill of health. Dad has been on Coumadin, a blood-thinner medication, following a pulmonary embolism he had in October of 2004, and is typically compliant with all medications. As far as we know, he did not have any with him when he disappeared.
- At this time I am not aware of any plans for a ground search, as we really don't even know where he could have been, but I estimate he only had about an hour to take the plane up and bring it back down, tie it down and get to class on time in North Charleston.
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