A pilot in South Carolina survived a plane crash after the engine on his craft failed and he landed in a neighborhood tree. He said his parachute is the reason that he survived.
William Kepper was flying his plane from Aiken, South Carolina when his plane engine failed. Police received calls around noon on Sunday afternoon about a plane going down near a local high school, WYFF reported.
A local Fox News affiliate reported that the plane involved was a single-engine Composite Technology Light Sport aircraft. The Wade Hampton Fire Department arrived at the scene first and WYFF reported that county and city law enforcement were also on the scene.
Kepper told WYFF that he called the Downtown Greenville Airport, the busiest airport in the state, and declared an aviation emergency. Airport officials told Kepper he was cleared to land at the airport but he told WYFF he knew he wouldn't make it there in time for a landing.
Instead, Kepper was forced to deploy his aircraft's parachute and hoped it would slow his craft down enough for a safe landing. Luckily, Keeper was able to guide the plane into a tree behind a house approximately three miles away from the airport.
The pilot then climbed out of his aircraft with only a few minor scratches and told WYFF that he does not need any hospital treatment. He told WYFF that the parachute is what saved his life.
A nearby neighbor named Michael Rubner told WYFF that "The officer up at the intersection said a plane had crashed and then he pointed to it and that's when we first saw the plane up in the tree."
Another neighbor said it was a miracle that the pilot survived the crash. "What I asked him was if he was actually trying to hit the tree and the gentleman said, 'No, as soon as you open the parachute, you just don't know where you're gonna land,' but just for the grace of God he actually landed on that tree. That's unbelievable," Melcom Sanchez told WYFF.
Just last week, Newsweek reported about a plane crash on a Texas highway. A video posted by the Chambers County Sheriff's Office on Facebook showed the small aircraft taking off before quickly crashing onto the highway. The crash occurred at approximately 10:45 a.m. following a parade in the area.
In the video, the plane comes tumbling down quickly after it took off. While it plummeted back down from the sky, the plane hit the traffic lights and a few power lines.
According to authorities, there were no injuries from the crash. The crash is still under investigation but police believe strong winds contributed to the plane crashing into the highway. Investigators believed that the winds changed direction as soon as the plane was in the air which could have caused the crash, KPRC reported.
Footage of the plane being towed from the scene showed both of its wings completely bent and misshapen.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Samantha Berlin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on trends and human-interest stories. Samantha ... Read more
