HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - A 38-year-old father of two was jogging and listening to his iPod when he was hit from behind and killed by a small plane making an emergency landing on the beach, officials said Tuesday.
Robert Gary Jones of Woodstock, Ga., died instantly Monday evening when he was hit by the single-engine plane, which had lost its propeller, said Beaufort County Coroner Ed Allen. The pilot's vision was blocked by oil on the windshield.
Jones apparently did not see or hear the plane, which was "basically gliding," the coroner said.
FAA records show the Experimental Lancair IV-P plane was registered to Edward I. Smith of Chesapeake, Va.
Smith was on the beach with his plane Tuesday and confirmed he was the pilot. He said he didn't want to talk about the crash and offered few details.
"I've got a lot of issues going on right now. I've got a plane that's all torn up. And I've got a young man that I killed," he said.
Authorities said there was also a passenger on board but did not identify him or her.
The plane started leaking oil at about 13,000 feet and tried originally to make it to Hilton Head Airport, said fire and rescue spokeswoman Joheida Fister.
The oil on the windshield blocked Smith's vision and he told authorities the propeller came off. When he tried to land on the beach near the Hilton Head Marriott Resort and Spa, the plane hit Jones and came to rest a little farther down the beach, Fister said.
The plane was still on the beach Tuesday afternoon. Waves lapped against it and the tail was attached to an anchor with a rope so the tide wouldn't pull it out to sea. The waves had washed away any sign of it skidding across the sand.
Yellow crime scene tape stretched from the water to the dunes to keep people away. Tourists walked up to the tape, gawking and snapping pictures. Other than the missing propeller, the plane appeared undamaged.
The plane left Orlando, Fla., at 4:45 p.m. and was headed for Virginia, Fister said. The four-seater plane has a turbine engine, can be built from a kit and can fly up to 370 mph, according to the Lancair Web site. The IV-P model has a pressurized cabin.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating, Fister said.
An FAA spokeswoman referred inquiries to the NTSB.
That is just terrible. That would be tough to live with.
I never could get used to listening to headphones while doing other things. I just don't like the feeling of not being able to hear what's going on around me.
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You should fear anything that can bleed for seven days without dying... (as told to Mr. DS on 3-12-10)
I used to ride my bike in traffic with headphones on all the time. Probably not the smartest thing in the world to do.
But that's such a sad, senseless way to die. I think about those poor kids who when asked how their father died are going to have to say "he was hit by a small plane while jogging on the beach". It just sounds so ridiculously random.
Oh, I definitely don't want my house to be clean when I die. I'd like to think that my final days will be spent doing something I love (house cleaning in no way or form would be anywhere on that list).
I feel bad for the families of people who die doing something illegal. I had a friend whose brother died stealing copper tubing. He fell from a fence and hit his head on the ground...
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You should fear anything that can bleed for seven days without dying... (as told to Mr. DS on 3-12-10)
It is bad enough we talk about not living enough. We have to work hard in order to play hard. I know I work hard, but I barely play anymore. We spend the better part of our lives working so we can enjoy our "retirement". For many of us, we may never have a true retirement. Plus, these are the years we really want to spend doing stupid things, going places, hanging out with friends, etc.
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Stop trying to be what you see. Be what you ought to be.
I'm hoping I get credit toward purgatory for all of the suffering I've done to this point. 20 years with the wuzband ought to equate to a "get out of purgatory free" card. If not, then I don't forsee a lingering death horrible death as doing myself any favors. I'd probably end up adding to my stint in purgatory for being all extra cranky for being in pain and wishing I was already gone.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
I don't want to linger nor do I want to see it coming such as a head-on high-speed car crash or something like that. I want a random death......just take me, make it fast and get it over with, with as little suffering as possible. Pain I can handle, as long as it's not prolonged. Like Mema, I think I've suffered enough during my life.
20 years with the wuzband ought to equate to a "get out of purgatory free" card. If not, then I don't forsee a lingering death horrible death as doing myself any favors. I'd probably end up adding to my stint in purgatory for being all extra cranky for being in pain and wishing I was already gone.
