4 killed in xmas plane crash

A surgery resident at CAMC was killed with her parents and sister in a South Carolina plane crash on Friday, according to a close friend of her family. Lauren Armistead, 27, a North Carolina native and graduate of West Virginia University’s medical school, was aboard the plane with her father, Ray Armistead, who was the pilot; mother, Patty; and sister, Kristen, said Penn Markham of Charleston, whose family knew the Armisteads for several years. Armistead family relatives have told Markham’s family that there’s no doubt about the identity of the four people killed, said Markham. Kristen Armistead’s wallet has been found in the wreckage, and her car remains parked at the airport from which the plan debarked, he said.

Authorities have not publicly confirmed the identities of the four people found on board, but Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten told the Charlotte, N.C., television station WCNC-TV that she suspected the victims probably are the Armisteads.

The twin-engine Cessna 340A was registered in Ray Armistead’s name, said Laura Brown, a spokeswoman with the Federal Aviation Administration. It went down in the Stono River while attempting to land at the Johns Island Executive Airport, southwest of Charleston, S.C., on Friday afternoon, she said. Airport controllers lost contact with the plane about 1:45 p.m., Brown said. Witnesses saw it plunge into the river about that time, said Charles Francis, a spokesman for the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.

“We’re all really shook up by this,” said Markham, whose brother, Peter, was dating Lauren Armistead. The two met while attending WVU, he said. “She was a very adventurous person, she loved the outdoors and was really a world traveler,” he said. The family often got together for vacations at out-of-the-way places, he said.

Ray Armistead was a New Bern, N.C., orthopedic surgeon and Kristen Armistead a graduate student in Charlotte. Lauren Armistead had planned to practice reconstructive surgery once she finished her CAMC residency, Markham said. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash once the plane’s wreckage is recovered, said a spokesman for the agency.
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Six hours after recovery efforts began, the three remaining victims on board the cessna 340 A were pulled from the wreckage. Dr. Ray Armistead of New Bern, NC, his wife, patty and their two daughters, 27 year old lauren and 25 year old kristin were on board. One autopsy showed the cause of death was blunt force head and neck trauma. The Armistead family left New Bern Friday, planning to spend Christmas on Kiawah Island. "It's important that we document evidence that might tell us about the crash...and so on, so that takes time," says Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten.

The plane was submerged in about 20 feet of water when investigators found it. Their biggest concern as they went to remove it was the aircraft's condition and whether or not it might break into more pieces as it was pulled out. Overnight it shifted onto its backside and the tail actually broke off, but remained attached by its wiring. "I know weather was here at the time, but that doesn't matter. I still have to examine the aircraft and look at the past maintenance, pilot experience and so forth and so on," says Eric Alleyne of NTSB.

NTSB will now transport the plane to Atlanta for a full investigation. Coast Guard officials estimate the aircraft was carrying about 130 gallons of fuel. They contained a small leak and don't anticipate any environmental damage.