911 caller describes crash of flying boat

  • Andy Paras
  • Posted: Saturday, July 23, 2011 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 10:40 p.m.
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Lucas Smith and Carly Donohue are seen in the ultra light flying dinghy hours before the craft crashed near Dewees Island killing both Smith and Donohue.
/Photo by Norman StewartLucas Smith and Carly Donohue are seen in the ultra light flying dinghy hours before the craft crashed near Dewees Island killing both Smith and Donohue.

A flying boat was soaring high over the ocean when the nose of the tiny vessel suddenly pitched down, then back up, then back down again before plummeting, a witness told 911 dispatchers on Wednesday.

"It fell from hundreds of feet, thousands of feet and then it exploded," the female caller said. "He was way, way up in the sky like almost an airplane that's flying over carrying a banner. Almost that height."

Lucas Smith, 40, and Cara Lee "Carly" Donohue, 27, both of Mount Pleasant, died in the 6:19 p.m. crash.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause. The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to issue a preliminary report in the next week to 10 days, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said Friday.

The woman, calling from Dewees Island, described the aircraft as a rubber boat with an engine and a hang glider attached to it.

"We were saying, I don't know how he can fly in this wind because the wind is strong," she said. "Then it started pitching: Straight nose up. Straight nose down. Straight nose up. And you could tell he was struggling to control it, and then he just crashed directly into the ocean and there was an explosion."

Minutes into the call, the caller said a fishing boat arrived on scene and pulled a person into it. The boat remained at the site as rescuers arrived. There was no mention of the second person when the 16-minute call ended.

Both passengers were taken to the Isle of Palms Marina where they were pronounced dead, authorities said.

Bergen said the light-sport aircraft should have been registered with the agency and subject to airworthiness inspections, but it was not. There is also no record of Smith having the sport pilot certificate to fly the aircraft.

Smith's friends said the father of two had owned the aircraft for a decade or more and couldn't imagine anyone more experienced at flying it than he was.

Smith was the charter boat captain for his boat, The Osprey. Donohue was his first mate.

Funeral arrangements had not been set as of Friday afternoon.

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