Two single-engine airplanes collided minutes after takeoff Sunday

By

WILLIAM STRACENER

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Two single-engine airplanes collided minutes after takeoff Sunday, killing five persons as wreckage plummeted amid tennis courts and homes on this posh resort island. Two other persons feared to have been in the plane crash arrived at their Arlington, Va., homes just before 10 p.m. They had driven home from the island and did not know about the accident. 'Katie (Reynolds) and John (Messano) just walked in the door,' said Ms. Reynolds' roommate, Mary Beth Goodson in a telephone interview. 'They are fine. They don't know anything about it yet.' Authorities said they recovered four mangled bodies from the charred wreckage of a Piper Cherokee, which crashed about 11 a.m. Another victim -- the pilot of a Aeronac Champion -- died at a local hospital. Because of the severity of the crash, Beaufort County Deputy Coroner Roy Fyfe said officials were unable to determine the exact number of people aboard the Cherokee and feared that Katie Reynolds, 35, and Messano were on the plane. Ms. Reynolds was the sister of the Cherokee's pilot, identified as Tommy B. Reynolds of Painesville Township, Ohio. Jerry Forstner, a business associate of Reynolds' in Ohio, confirmed by telephone that Reynolds, 39, his wife, Kay, 40, their son, Howard, 11, and their adopted daughters, Katherine, 17, were on the plane. Fyfe said investigators at the scene were unable to determine from the mutiliated remains exactly how many persons had died. 'We found what we thought were parts of five bodies,' he said. But the remains were so dismembered that a pathologist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston was called in to check. One witness described the scene where the Cherokee crashed as 'absolutely, incredible destruction.' The disparity over the number of people who were on the Cherokee stemmed from officials at the airport who told authorities six persons were at the airport shortly before takeoff, Fyfe said. But Katie Reynolds and Messano did not board the aircraft, opting instead to drive to the Washington D.C. area. The pilot of the Aeronca, who died at Hilton Head Hospital, was identified as student pilot, David Girimont, 28, of Hilton Head Island. Beaufort County Coroner Roger Pinckney said apparently the wings of the two aircraft clipped one another as the planes flew under clear skies.ver the number of people who were on the Cherokee stemmed from officials at the airport who told authorities six persons apparently planned to board the aircraft before takeoff, Fyfe said. Relatives said the group vacationing at the island -- two couples and two children -- may have had a car, Fyfe said. A car had not been found, leading officials to speculate the couple may have driven. But Fyfe said no one had heard from the missing couple. Until the couple has been accounted for, Fyfe said authorities would have to assume they were on the plane. A Federal Aviation Administration official in Atlanta identified the pilot of the Cherokee as Tommy B. Reynolds of Painesville Township, Ohio. Jerry Forstner, a business associate of Reynolds in Ohio, confirmed by telephone that Reynolds, his wife, Kay, 40, their son, Howard, 11, and their adopted daughters, Katherine, 17, were on the plane. But Forstner said he was unable to to confirm if Reynolds' sister, Katie Reynolds, 35, and a male friend, John Messano, who both live in Washington D.C. were on the plane. 'We're hoping they had a car and that they drove back to Washington,' he said. The pilot of the Aeronca, who died at Hilton Head Hospital, was identified as student pilot, David Girimont, 28, of Hilton Head Island. Beaufort County Coroner Roger Pinckney said apparently the wings of the two aircraft brushed one another as the planes flew under clear skies. A Federal Aviation Administration official identified the pilot of the Piper only as as Tom Reynolds. The pilot of the Aeronica, who died at Hilton Head Hospital, was identified as a student pilot, David Girimont, 28, Hilton Head. Pinckney said apparently the wings of the two aircraft brushed one another as the planes flew under clear skies. Wreckage from the two planes scattered about a quarter-mile apart on the north end of this 10-mile-long barrier island, about 20 miles northeast of Savannah, Ga. The engine of the Cherokee was embedded in a paved, two-lane road near the home of Sunny Littlejohn, 35. 'I was asleep. I heard what I guess was an explosion and then I heard a loud crash,' said Mrs. Littlejohn. 'It sounded like two cars colliding. I looked and saw the debris and called the authorities. 'There was no fire. It was just a mangled mass of bodies and plane.' Hilton Head Fire Chief Larry Gooding said it was 'mostly a collection of bits and pieces. The airplane demolished on impact. 'It apparently impacted just about vertically because the engine was embedded in the road.' Bill Colborn, 29, who lives near the Cherokee crash site, said, 'The large plane was upside down at about a 45-degree angle. I heard it hit and I expected it to explode but it didn't. He said he went to the crash scene and 'the plane was smoking but not on fire. There were no discernible bodies -- everything was arms and legs.' The Aeronica crashed near the Island Club just south of the resort inn, Port Royal Plantation. Some of the wreckage narrowly missed tennis courts where people were playing.