WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, An F-16 fighter jet collided with a civilian Cessna 150 light aircraft 11 miles north of Charleston, South Carolina. The US Air Force said the pilot had ejected safely from the fighter jet and survived while all passengers aboard the Cessna aircraft were believed to be dead.
“We have recovered the body of Michael Johnson, 68 years old. He was the passenger in the aircraft. We are still searching for Joseph Johnson, 30 years old, who was the pilot. This was a father and son, and the son was piloting the plane.”
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) crash investigator Dennis Diaz said the crash of the F-16 fighter jet is still being investigated.
The investigators plan to tackle that crash site tomorrow pending the outcome of the Cessna aircraft crash investigation, he added, noting that investigators will also speak to the pilot while look at data from the plane, including archived weather data and archived air traffic control radar data.
Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said he has a team of divers and marine patrol officers currently in the water assisting in the search of the Cessna aircraft crash. He also said he assigned a special team of detectives to work with the NTSB investigators.
Diaz explained the Cessna aircraft was going to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with a return flight planned that day. He said the F-16 fighter jet was attempting “some kind of instrument approach” to the Charleston airport, but the exact itinerary of the fighter jet is still being investigated.
A preliminary report of the investigation, according to Diaz, will be available soon on the NTSB website while a full factual report of the investigation will be released in nine to 12 months from now.
