Four killed in small plane crash in Jedburg

JEDBURG— Four people are confirmed dead in a small plane crash this morning about 20 miles northwest of Charleston, officials said.

The plane took off on Runway 24 at the Summerville airport around 6:28 a.m. and was headed south, but crashed about 50 yards off airport property.

“It was extremely dark and that’s why it was difficult to locate” the crash site, Dorchester County Administrator Jason Ward said.

The plane, a twin-engine Piper PA-23, can seat up to 6 people.

While background information was still being assembled by the Dorchester County Coroner's Office late Wednesday but identified as killed in the crash were:

• The pilot and plane's owner, Peter Radding, of North Charleston, believed to be in his mid-to-late 60s. He was a pilot for at least 40 years and was described as being meticulous about his plane.
• James Randolph Hargenrader, 55, of Summerville. He was the front seat passenger and also a licensed pilot.
• Passenger Edwin Steeble, of Summerville, also in the 55-65 year range.

Dorchester County Coronor Chris Nisbett did not release the name of the fourth passenger, a Delaware resident, pending notification of his family.

The group was heading to Ft. Pierce which was to be their U.S. Customs and Border Protection clearance destination ahead of flying to an amateur radio operators' convention in the Bahamas.

A woman who answered the phone at his home said Radding was flying out of Summerville Wednesday. She declined to comment further.

Radding's neighbor, Jim Deaton, said the man and others planned to stop in Florida, pick up more passengers, then head to the Bahamas.

"His wife is obviously very shook up," Deaton said.

Officials on the scene Wednesday were keeping reporters away from the crash site near the airport, located in a rural area with a few homes, farm land and industrial sites a couple miles northwest of Jedburg.

When the plane crashed, “it was engulfed in flames,” Ward said.

A neighbor of the airport called in the crash. The plane is currently upside down and emergency workers are bringing in rocks so that they can reach the crash site, which is in a low area. They will have to remove shrubs and trees to access the plane.

Workers are also searching for one of the plane's propellers.

Federal Aviation Administration officials are on scene, and National Transportation and Safety Bureau leaders are expected this evening.

Check back with postandcourier.com for more details as they become available.