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Coroner: Man, adult son on plane that collided with F-16

Pilot safely ejects from fighter jet, officials say

NBC Newschannel SOURCE: NBC Newschannel
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Coroner: Man, adult son on plane that collided with F-16
Pilot safely ejects from fighter jet, officials say
NEW INFORMATION:A coroner says a man and his adult son were on board a small plane that collided with an F-16 fighter jet over South Carolina.Berkeley County Coroner Bill Salisbury said Wednesday that authorities have recovered the body of 68-year-old Michael Johnson, the passenger.They are still searching for the body of his son, 30-year-old Joseph Johnson, who was piloting the plane.Federal investigators and local authorities have been combing through a wide swath of rural, sparsely populated land as they try to determine what caused the collision.The small Cessna was completely destroyed.Officials from Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter said in a news release that the jet's pilot ejected from his aircraft safely.PREVIOUS STORY: The Federal Aviation Administration said the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the Cessna C-150 collided 11 miles north of Charleston.To watch the full 5 p.m. news conference held Tuesday, click here.  To see the first news conference officials held Tuesday, click here.To see pictures from the scene of the crash, click here.The Berkeley County Fire Department says the crash happened near Old Highway 52 at Lewisfield Plantation in Moncks Corner. At a news conference late Tuesday afternoon, Col. Stephen Jost with the 20th Fighter Wing out of Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, S.C., said the F-16 pilot was Maj. Aaron Johnson, with the 55th Fighter Squadron attached to Shaw.Jost said Johnson was on a single-ship training mission flying instrument approaches into Charleston before returning to Shaw.Jost said the senior pilot likely had as many as 1,500 flight hours.  He said there were no weather conditions that affected the flight.  Jost said the flight from Shaw to Charleston takes about 10 minutes, and Johnson was in two-way communication with air traffic control.  The F-16 was at an elevation of 2,000 to 3,000 feet, he said.Jost said Johnson survived the collision by ejecting. He was picked up walking distance from the wreckage of the fighter jet by workers on a Berkeley County plantation, Jost said.Johnson was taken to the medical clinic at Joint Base Charleston.The two people killed in the civilian plane were from Berkeley County, according to Sheriff Duane Lewis.  He said the search area includes several miles of land, rice fields and river. Lewis said the wreckage of the F-16 has been located, along with a small amount of wreckage from the Cessna.He said it is not yet known if the Cessna pilot had filed a flight plan, but the pilot was communicating with the control tower and had announced his departure.Lewis said it is believed the small plane was headed to Myrtle Beach, and had taken off only moments before the collision.Just after 5 p.m., he said he believed searchers had located a wallet that would provide positive identification.Lewis said there were witnesses to the collision who are being interviewed as part of the investigation.The National Transportation Safety Board will take over the investigation into the collision and crash.Parts of the county near the Berkeley Country Club are closed down as the search continues for the victims and the wreckage, and the sheriff asked people to avoid any areas where roads are shut down.

NEW INFORMATION:

A coroner says a man and his adult son were on board a small plane that collided with an F-16 fighter jet over South Carolina.

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Berkeley County Coroner Bill Salisbury said Wednesday that authorities have recovered the body of 68-year-old Michael Johnson, the passenger.

They are still searching for the body of his son, 30-year-old Joseph Johnson, who was piloting the plane.

Federal investigators and local authorities have been combing through a wide swath of rural, sparsely populated land as they try to determine what caused the collision.

The small Cessna was completely destroyed.

Officials from Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter said in a news release that the jet's pilot ejected from his aircraft safely.

PREVIOUS STORY: 

The Federal Aviation Administration said the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the Cessna C-150 collided 11 miles north of Charleston.

To watch the full 5 p.m. news conference held Tuesday, click here.  

To see the first news conference officials held Tuesday, click here.

To see pictures from the scene of the crash, click here.

The Berkeley County Fire Department says the crash happened near Old Highway 52 at Lewisfield Plantation in Moncks Corner. 

At a news conference late Tuesday afternoon, Col. Stephen Jost with the 20th Fighter Wing out of Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, S.C., said the F-16 pilot was Maj. Aaron Johnson, with the 55th Fighter Squadron attached to Shaw.

Jost said Johnson was on a single-ship training mission flying instrument approaches into Charleston before returning to Shaw.

Jost said the senior pilot likely had as many as 1,500 flight hours.  He said there were no weather conditions that affected the flight.  Jost said the flight from Shaw to Charleston takes about 10 minutes, and Johnson was in two-way communication with air traffic control.  The F-16 was at an elevation of 2,000 to 3,000 feet, he said.

Jost said Johnson survived the collision by ejecting. He was picked up walking distance from the wreckage of the fighter jet by workers on a Berkeley County plantation, Jost said.

Johnson was taken to the medical clinic at Joint Base Charleston.

The two people killed in the civilian plane were from Berkeley County, according to Sheriff Duane Lewis.  He said the search area includes several miles of land, rice fields and river. 

Lewis said the wreckage of the F-16 has been located, along with a small amount of wreckage from the Cessna.

He said it is not yet known if the Cessna pilot had filed a flight plan, but the pilot was communicating with the control tower and had announced his departure.

Lewis said it is believed the small plane was headed to Myrtle Beach, and had taken off only moments before the collision.

Just after 5 p.m., he said he believed searchers had located a wallet that would provide positive identification.

Lewis said there were witnesses to the collision who are being interviewed as part of the investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board will take over the investigation into the collision and crash.

Parts of the county near the Berkeley Country Club are closed down as the search continues for the victims and the wreckage, and the sheriff asked people to avoid any areas where roads are shut down.