[NVG]

Apr 01, 2010
A Johns Island man died in a plane crash Thursday morning.
John Ratcliffe, 70, died of head and chest injuries, said Charleston County Coroner officials.
Ratcliffe was in a fixed wing single-engine Kolb Mark III Xtra, an amateur-built plane.
The crash happened at around 11 a.m. not far from the Johns Island Executive Airport runway.
"It was an airplane basically just practicing, circling the airport and he went out of sight and airport personnel called 911," said Robert Giguere, a Federal Aviation Administration official.
The National Transportation Safety Board is making arrangements to remove the wreckage and bring all the pieces to one place.
Investigators will then inspect it and try and figure out what went wrong.
The wreckage was found in a marshy area off the Stono River, said Becky Beaman, Charleston County Aviation Authority public information director.
"Real passionate guy, loved flying, loved talking about aviation," said Brett Grooms, a pilot who knew Ratcliffe because they are both part of the local Experimental Aircraft Association, a group of pilots who like to build and fly these types of planes.
"This is a tragic loss for all of our chapter members," Grooms said.
"We do it every day. We love it. Rarely do we have accidents like this. Unfortunately, these things happen," Grooms said.
The aircraft was made out of aircraft fabric, which is light and strong and what all planes use to be made of, Grooms said.
"It's just a little different looking aircraft than what your traditional aircraft would look like," he added.

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