Businessman and glamorous wife die after boarding private plane during storm forecast
Engineering executive Phil Porter, 69, and his wife Cheryle, 66, tragically lost their lives on Saturday when the jet he was piloting crashed near Dothan, North Carolina, near Myrtle Beach.
According to the Gaffney Ledger, Porter had years of experience as a pilot before the deadly crash.
The couple took off from Spartanburg and were reportedly set to land at Grand Strand Airport in South Carolina but were diverted due to heavy storms, and crashed as they made their descent.
Their twin-engine Beechcraft plane was traveling at around 250mph when it fell from the skies.
The cause of the crash is not yet known, and authorities said they have launched an investigation into the deadly incident.
Porter owned Porter's Electric Motor Service which he inherited from his father, and his wife worked as a sales representative at the family firm.
The husband and wife both died in the crash, with no other injuries or deaths on the ground reported after their jet landed in a wooded area.
On his company's profile, Porter's Electric Motor Service is described as a mechanical maintenance and repair firm in the Gaffney, South Carolina area.
According to FAA data cited by WBTW, Porter has been certified to fly since 2013.
Although the cause of the crash is unclear, air traffic control chatter first obtained by News13 shed some light on the final moments of the couple's final flight.
Porter could reportedly be heard telling operators: 'I got some smoke in the trees at my nine 'o clock. I'm on a zero-four-zero heading. I saw him on my (database).'
Robert Katz, a commercial pilot with more than 43 years of experience, told the outlet that he believes a combination of heavy weather and pilot error may have contributed to the crash.
'It appears that his flight from Spartanburg was pretty much routine for the most part until he gets into the Myrtle Beach area where is warned about heavy weather. He's not unaware of it,' he said.
'He attempts to approach Grand Strand at exactly the wrong time, when severe weather is in the vicinity.'
Flight data showed Porter's plane, which had last flown less than two weeks before the crash, circled away from Grand Strand airport before the crash.
'He is, in effect, scared off, and then attempts to escape the area to the northwest only to find himself in thicker weather at that point, which overtakes him,' Katz said.
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