Plane that crashed Socastee field had parts installed incorrectly, NTSB says
Two days before James Harper’s plane crashed into a field, killing him, the aircraft had been inspected, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The inspection maintenance included removing, repainting and reinstalling the primary and secondary flight control surfaces, the report said. Investigators looking at the wreckage of the plane found the elevator trim tabs were installed upside down and backward. The tabs, when installed properly, help pilots maintain a steady climb or decent without a lot of force.
On May 21 at 6:12 p.m., Harper took off in his Piper PA-31P from Myrtle Beach International Airport. The plane model was in production between 1970 and 1984 and is powered by two engines and has a pressurized cabin. Harper’s plane had 167.5 gallons of fuel in it, according to the report.
Harper was headed to Grand Strand Airport in North Myrtle Beach. Moments after takeoff he told air traffic control he needed to return to the runway, according to the report. While trying to turn around, the aircraft’s altitude fluctuated from 1,000 feet to 450 to 700 then to 475. It was at this point that radar contact was lost.
About a minute after Harper requested to return, air traffic control asked him if any assistance was needed, to which he replied “Yes, we’re in trouble.”
The airplane hit the field — a 400 foot by 150 foot clearing of grass that borders a neighborhood lined with houses — soon after, the NTSB report said. Witnesses, including an Horry County cop rushed to help, but the plane burst into flames shortly after the crash.
Around 7:15 p.m. the remains of the small aircraft were still smoldering in a clearing off of Socastee Boulevard near Buck Hill Drive, the report said. Dozens of spectators gathered in the parking lot of Thai Palms Restaurant to watch fire crews put the fire out.
This story was originally published June 5, 2021 at 11:34 AM.
