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PARKERSBURG, W. Va.–A Parkersburg pilot has been identified as one of two men killed when a plane crashed into a car dealership Tuesday morning near Marietta, Ohio, just across the Ohio River from Williamstown.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Eric Seevers, 45, of Parkersburg, and Timothy Gifford, 49, of Orient, Ohio, were killed. Both men were experienced pilots and flight instructors.
The crash occurred at just before 7:15 a.m. at Pioneer Buick GMC along Ohio State Route 7. Reports indicate at least eight vehicles were damaged by the flames.
The plane, a 1974 Beechcraft King Air E90, left Columbus at 6:30 a.m. It was only a few miles from the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport when the crash occurred.
Wood County Airport Authority President Bill Richardson, who expressed his condolences to all involved, told MetroNews the flight was likely in its final minutes when the wreck happened.
“I’m guessing the runway threshold from where the wreck occurred is definitely less than five miles and maybe as close as three,” Richardson said.
Richardson, himself a pilot, said weather appeared to be okay for flying Tuesday morning.
“I couldn’t tell you what the ceiling was but it was sufficient and I don’t believe there was any fog,” he said.
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reported Tuesday afternoon that the plane was coming to Parkersburg to pick-up the owners of the Blennerhassett Hotel to take them to Florida.
“The plane was coming to pick up Lee and I to take us to Fort Lauderdale. The pilots were excellent pilots. … Our hearts are broken,” Parkersburg resident Wayne Waldeck told the newspaper.
Social media information indicates Seevers was a corporate pilot and flight instructor while Gifford was a flight instructor at Bolton Field in Columbus, Ohio.
Richardson said the Mid-Ohio Valley aviation community is a close-knit group. He said what happened Tuesday was devastating. He said it’s very fortunate there weren’t people on the ground injured or killed considering how busy the area is where the plane went down.
“That particular stretch of Route 7 ha a lot of commercial activity on it, car lots, there’s a Walmart, there’s a lot of commercial activity on that stretch of highway,” Richardson said.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be in charge of the investigation.