MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCIV) -- Two people on board a Cessna 150 are dead after the plane collided with an F-16 Fighting Falcon in the air above a rural Berkeley County plantation Tuesday, authorities said.
The F-16 pilot, identified as Maj. Aaron Johnson of the 20th Fighter Wing from the Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, survived after ejecting safely, the base confirmed.
Authorities say the collision was reported about 11 a.m. near the Lewisfield Plantation off Old Highway 52, about 30 miles north of Charleston. Debris is scattered over a large area including a rice field and a body of water. No one was injured from the falling debris.
"From what I understand from a witness that the plane was, the military plane struck the other small aircraft broad side," said Bill Salisbury with the Berkeley County Rescue Squad.
Two people on board the Cessna died in the crash, according to NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson. They were not immediately identified.
Officials said Johnson, the F-16 pilot, was taken to the Charleston Air Force Base for evaluation.
"From what I understand he seemed to be in pretty good shape," Salisbury said.
Officials have not released any names.
"We are in investigative mode now trying to find who that plane belonged to and who was on board," Salisbury said.
Kathryn C. Dennis, a member of the cast of "Southern Charm" on Bravo, tweeted Tuesday that the plane crashed in a rice field near her home.
"Update: the small plane crashed in the rice field directly in front of my house and the people in it are friends of my family. Please pray," Dennis wrote.
Much of the terrain is forest and swamp, only reachable by dirt and gravel roads. Police have blocked off several roads in the area. Multiple agencies are on the scene.
Knudson of the NTSB said an investigator is expected to arrive at the scene sometime Tuesday night.
