NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Plans to remove a banner plane that crashed into the ocean in North Myrtle Beach Wednesday have been put on hold due to a high tide.
North Myrtle Beach police say they will not make any efforts to pull out the banner plane Thursday morning as originally planned, because the tide is too high and their cables are not long enough. The recovery attempt was planned for Thursday afternoon. That effort has now been postponed until the weekend.
The owner of the plane, Barnstormers Aerial Advertising, had hoped to remove the aircraft early Thursday before large crowds hit the sand for a day at the beach, according to city spokesman Pat Dowling, but it will take more time to acquire the equipment necessary to complete the job.
Just hours after the plane crashed into the ocean in North Myrtle Beach, dive crews located the sunken aircraft, but a NMB police officer tells WMBF News the tide came in too high on Wednesday to retrieve the plane from the water. Crews did not have cable long enough to pull it in. Crews are planning to wait until Thursday to make their next attempt at getting that plane out.
The Horry County Dive Team used buoys and anchors and pulled them along the bottom of the water to locate the plane resting on the ocean bed.
Police, dive teams and fire crews responded to the beach just after 12 p.m. when the banner plane crashed.
Dowling says the banner plane entered the water in the area of 46th Avenue South.
Dive teams have been brought into the area, and the portion of the beach near 46th Ave South has been closed to beach goers as officials investigate the crash.
County search crews were in the water working to locate the plane, and Dowling adds, that once located, it is the owner's responsibility to remove.
A NMB police officer tells WMBF News the tide has come in too high to retrieve the plane from the water, and they don't have cable long enough to pull it in. Crews are planning to wait until Thursday to make their next attempt at getting that plane out.
The pilot is out of the water, Dowling says, but his condition is unknown. His identity has not yet been released.
The cause of the crash has not been determined.
In a separate incident, a banner plane ran off the runway over the weekend, suffering minor damage. The pilot in that crash was the only occupant and he was not injured.
Stick with WMBF News for the late-breaking details as they become available.
Copyright 2012 WMBF News. All rights reserved.
Source: WMBF News Anchor Paula Caruso
Source: WMBF News Photographer Ian Dorety
