Officials identify pilot whose plane crashed in Lake Hartwell

HART COUNTY, GA (FOX Carolina) - Officials have recovered a plane that crashed in Lake Hartwell over the weekend and identified the solo occupant.

On Sept. 15, the body of Todd Jeffrey Carrell, 55, of North Port, Florida, was removed from a plane that had been pulled from the water in Lake Hartwell and turned over to the Hart County Coroner’s Office.

The Beechcraft B55 crashed into Lake Hartwell on Saturday afternoon and the wreckage was located about 121 feet underwater. County Administrator said the pilot’s body was still in the water but was too deep to reach, so a dive team search was called off.

The FAA said the plane crashed into the lake around 12:30 p.m. prompting a search by several crews, including law enforcement and a dive team.

Witnesses who live in the area said the crash happened near Old 29 Highway in Hart County, Georgia. This is just a few miles from the South Carolina and Georgia border.

Carrell was the only one on board at the time of the crash, according to the FAA.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Stay tuned for further updates.

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