HARTSVILLE – A Pelzer man was among three men killed when an experimental plane crashed in Hartsville Saturday. Killed were Joseph Melton Loflin II, 29, of Pelzer; his father-in-law George Thomas Rogers, 61, of Society Hill and Leslie Bradshaw, 75, of Hartsville.
According to reports, Darlington Sheriff Wayne Byrd said the plane had taken off from Darlington County Airport and the men were likely trying to return there.
A 911 caller whom Byrd said was a family member or friend of the family called about 6:40 p.m. reporting that the plane was having problems with its landing gear.
The crash site was about a half mile from the Hartsville Regional Airport.
The turboprop plane was an experimental one that seated four people and was built by an amateur, according to Todd Gunther, an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. The Federal Aviation Administration had licensed it, he said.
Reports did not indicate who was flying the plane.
