GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WBTW) – There was confusion about three miles east of the city of Georgetown Thursday afternoon because of a report that a plane had crashed into the ocean, but there was no crash.
Emergency crews raced to save what they thought was a plane in the ocean.
“Until we had confirmation that plane was safely on the ground, we kept on with our operation,” said Mark Nugent, division chief for Midway Fire Rescue in Pawleys Island.
The call came in just after 1:30 p.m.
Crews searched around Hobcaw Barony, which is private natural area.
“We love to know the last known call, so knowing from that plane, where that ping came from, where they lost contact with that plane,” Nugent said.
Midway Fire Rescue says the emergency system went off because the plane flew too low, not because it crashed. At 2:30, first responders learned the plane wasn’t in the ocean.
By 3:30, it safely landed at an airport.
“We had a training exercise here,” said Nugent. “Nobody got hurt and we’re grateful for that.”
Hobcaw Barony is a former slave plantation, now home to several universities’ marine science programs and one of the least populated stretches of the Grand Strand.
“From the DeBordieu subdivision, going south all the way to the city of Georgetown, there’s really not a lot there for somebody to report that,” Nugent said.
Even though it was a false alarm, Nugent says crews always have to be prepared.
“They do have planes that ditch in the ocean,” he said. “I’ve got pictures back at the office of an airplane that actually landed on the beach. Somebody actually got in trouble and landed on the beach. Nobody got hurt.”
It’s still unknown what kind of plane crews searched for, as well as where it was flying from and where it landed.
Horry County Fire Rescue also sent a search team and a boat to help out.