NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on Lake Hartwell Plane Crash

The National Transportation Safety Administration has released a preliminary report on the plane that crashed into Lake Hartwell last month.

It happened Saturday, September 10.

Pilot Todd Carrell was flying his Beechcraft B55 twin-engine plane from Punta Gorda, Fl to Anderson Regional Airport in Anderson, SC to attend an event.

According to the preliminary report, Anderson air traffic control cleared Carell for landing but he missed the approach several times. The air traffic controller asked Carrell if he was having trouble with his autopilot or gyro. He told the ATC he was having trouble with his gyro.

The controller then instructed Carrell to stop his turn and maintain 3,000 ft MSL. After that, Air Traffic Control had no further communications with Carrell.

According to the report, the last track data of Carrell’s plane was observed at 12:37p as the airplane descended through 1,825 ft MSL, about 1,165 ft above ground level.

The airplane impacted Lake Hartwell about 9 nautical miles south of the Anderson Regional Airport.

Witnesses later told investigators the plane went straight up into the clouds and then nose-dived into the lake.

Five days later, investigators with the NTSB were able to pull the plane out of 120 ft of water and recover Carrell’s body.