NC men die in plane crash. Their widows are now suing a Myrtle Beach company
Terry Michael Druffel was helping his friend Barrie Andrew McMurtrie pick up his plane in Myrtle Beach after it had been in the garage for maintenance.
McMurtrie, piloting the Piper PA28R aircraft, and Druffel, the passenger, was headed to Whiteville, North Carolina. But shortly after the two men took off from the Myrtle Beach International Airport on Sept. 14, 2022, the plane crashed, killing them both.
Now, nearly three years after their husbands were killed, two Brunswick County, North Carolina, widows have filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the aviation company, claiming the mechanic who serviced the plane forgot to install a gasket that caused the engine to fail and the plane to crash.
“One dumb gasket killed my husband,” said Linda Druffel, wife of Terry Druffel.
Druffel and Antoinette Titone, wife of McMurtrie, filed the suit in February 2025 against Executive Helicopters, doing business as Executive Helijet Aviation.
In a response to the lawsuit, the company said in court records that it “denies any liability with respect to the subject aircraft crash.”
Before the crash near Conway, the plane had been worked on by the aviation company, which is located at the Myrtle Beach airport, the suit said. The plane had been at the business for upgrades since April 18, 2022, the suit said.
The company removed the plane’s vacuum system, which was replaced with electronic instrumentation, the suit said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in its accident report that the mechanic’s failure to install the required gasket on the vacuum pump drive pad resulted in oil exhaustion and the subsequent loss of engine power. In addition, the director of maintenance’s failure to verify the installation of the gasket before returning the airplane to service contributed to the accident.
Shortly after departure, the pilot reported he was having problems with his navigation system, stating that he wanted to return to the airport, the suit said. About 30 seconds later, the pilot reported a loss of engine power and he would be unable to make it back to the airport.
The pilot told the air control tower that he had identified an off-field landing area. However, during the attempted landing, the aircraft struck some trees, a powerline and then the ground.
Both men were killed in the explosion, Linda Druffel said.
“I lost my whole life,” the Ocean Isle, North Carolina, resident said. “He was the love of my life.”
The two couples were friends, and Titone had driven the two men to the airport on the day of the crash, Druffel said.
“We never heard from them again,” Druffel said.
The suit is seeking damages for not only loss of income, but also mental anguish, torment and distress and funeral expenses.
Despite findings by NTSB and private experts that confirmed the cause of the crash, Executive Helijet and its insurance company have denied liability and have also attempted to limit available insurance coverage, according to the women’s law firm Motley Rice.
“We want to make sure no one else ever has to go through this,” Druffel said.
Terry Druffel, 66, was a retired 24-year Navy pilot with years of flight experience, his wife said. He was actually teaching Linda how to fly.
McMurtrie, 72, also had years of flight experience, she said.
“If they could’ve landed that plane,” Druffel said, “they would’ve.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
