County officials: Plans to recover plane from Lake Hartwell in motion

UPDATE - 5:27 p.m. Sept. 13

On Thursday, Sept. 15, contractors working in conjunction with the National Safety Transportation Board are expected to attempt to raise the plane which crashed into Lake Hartwell on Saturday, according to Hart County administrator Terrell Partain.

"They will be here Thursday as far as we know," Partain said. "[Long Point Recreation Area] will be closed to the public at that time."

Partain said Tuesday he was unaware of an exact time for the recovery effort Thursday.

UPDATE - 12:03 p.m. Sept. 13

Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland and Hart County administrator Terrell Partain said Tuesday the county has helped facilitate an arrangement between a flight insurance company and the National Transportation Safety Board for a contractor to recover the plane which crashed into Lake Hartwell on Saturday.

The plane needs to be carefully removed from the lake for safety reasons and according to Cleveland, the body of the pilot cannot be removed until the plane is recovered due to jammed doors and the plane's depth.

This story will be updated as details on the timeline and contractors involved become available.

Original Story

A private plane flown by a lone pilot crashed Saturday into Lake Hartwell near Long Point Recreation Area in Hartwell.

After impact at approximately 12:30 p.m. Saturday, the plane ended up under about 120 feet of water, according to Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland, and the pilot was assumed dead.

A diving unit from Oconee County, South Carolina was assisting the Hart County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday.

The Federal Aviation Administration was able to identify the aircraft as a Beechcraft 55 Baron registered to Todd Carrell from North Port, Florida. Agents confirmed that it took off from Punta Gorda, Florida at 9:40 a.m. Saturday with a flight plan to arrive in Anderson, South Carolina around 12:40 p.m.

Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland said Monday the objective to retrieve the pilot from his plane in Lake Hartwell was at a “standstill.”

Attempts by divers Sunday to get into the plane were unsuccessful. One diver, according to Cleveland, “got in a medical problem” Sunday. He did not add further details but said he believes the diver is in stable condition.

“The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is saying, ‘Other than getting the body out, do not disturb the plane.’ So we can’t get the body out until somebody lifts the plane up. It’s settled in the trees,” Cleveland said.

“The doors are jammed and we can’t get into the plane until it is lifted. We can’t lift the plane. We don’t have the capabilities so the NTSB is going to have to lift the plane for us to get the body.”

Cleveland said he “feels for the family.”

“They want their loved one out of that plan so they can have some closure. I understand that,” he said. “But we don’t have the capabilities to do it.”