JEDBURG, S.C. — Federal authorities said four people were killed when a small plane headed to Fort Pierce crashed Wednesday shortly after departure near the South Carolina coast.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the twin-engine Piper PA-23 was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. The aircraft crashed shortly after departure at 6:45 a.m. near the Summerville airport in a rural area northwest of Jedburg, S.C.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the flight plan indicated the aircraft was headed to the St. Lucie County International Airport in Fort Pierce. Diana Lewis, director of the St. Lucie airport, said she and her staff were unaware of the crash for a couple of hours and did not know who would have been expecting the plane to arrive there.

Bergen identified the pilot as Peter Radding of North Charleston, S.C. Jedburg is around 30 miles northwest of Charleston.

Radding’s neighbor, Jim Deaton, told The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C., that 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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tags: plane crash

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