Mooney M20J 201, N4512H, Air America Flying LLC: Incident occurred December 20, 2014 in the Congaree River, near Gaston, South Carolina

CAYCE, SC (WIS) -  A single-engine plane that crashed into the Congaree River December 20 has been pulled from the water.

The plane crashed into the river near the Carolina Eastman Facility in Calhoun County. Local salvage diver Steve Franklin tells WIS he and John Baker were hired by Atlanta Air Recovery of Griffin, GA, to pull the plane out of the water. 

Franklin says the Mooney M20J plane drifted about 1/2 mile downriver from its original crash site because of high river flows from recent rains.

Monday afternoon, Franklin and Baker used airbags to float the plane and tow it about eight miles upstream where it was pulled from the water at the Thomas Newman Public Landing in Cayce.

The pilot was rescued from the wreckage by a group of Boy Scouts who were canoeing on the river. Brad Vaught of Irmo was taken to the hospital and released.

The FAA continues to investigate the crash. 

Story and Photo Gallery:   http://www.wistv.com

Event Type: Incident 

Highest Injury: None

Damage: Unknown

AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED IN THE CONGAREE RIVER, NEAR GASTON, SC

Flight Phase:  UNKNOWN (UNK)

FAA  Flight Standards District Office: FAA West Columbia FSDO-13

http://registry.faa.gov/N4512H

CALHOUN COUNTY, SC — A  small plane crashed in the Congaree River in Calhoun County on Saturday afternoon.

The pilot was able to bring the Mooney plane down and escape without injury, according to Capt. Robert McCullough of the Department of Natural Resources. The plane went down sometime around 1 p.m. near the Richland-Calhoun County line, he said.

The plane’s location has been marked, but the craft is is completely submerged, McCullough said.

The FAA is investigating the incident. McCullough said he was not aware of what caused the plane to go down.

The Jim Hamilton-L.B. Owens Airport in Columbia would neither confirm nor deny the plane had taken off or had planned to land at the field.

Source: http://www.thestate.com

CALHOUN COUNTY, SC (WIS) -  A single engine aircraft crashed into the Congaree River Saturday afternoon. 

According to Lt. Rob McCullough with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resource, the aircraft crashed in the river in Calhoun County.

The accident was near the Carolina Eastman Facility.

The plane was totally submerged in the water.

The pilot is okay but was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries. 

Paul McNeil with Boy Scout Troop 597 from Dacula, Georgia said the troop was paddling down the Conagree and was able to help the pilot. 

McNeil says the troop was on their annual Christmas paddle.

The FAA has taken control of the investigation.