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A thrilling yet alarming incident unfolded over a South Carolina beach when a daredevil pilot reportedly lost control of his single-engine aircraft, prompting beachgoers to flee in fear as the plane swooped precariously close to the shore.
Authorities from the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office detained William Roger Williamson III on May 26 following a harrowing solo flight he undertook in early April that nearly ended in catastrophe.
Williamson, 50, was navigating his plane over Pawleys Island when he allegedly flew perilously near the beach, causing panic among sunbathers who believed the plane might crash.
One beachgoer recounted the heart-stopping moment to WMBF, saying she feared for a family’s safety as the aircraft seemed to bear down on them.
“The pilot turned, and it seemed like he was dive bombing straight toward us, coming in so close,” she recalled, describing the terrifying scene.
“We sort of dove out of our beach chairs, because we literally thought he was going to crash into the beach.”
Other horrified bystanders saw the plane “nearly clip” a row of beach houses, they told the outlet.
Pawleys Island Town Councilman Mark Hawn and Pawleys Island Police Chief Michael Fanning were both on the beach during his stunt. And one eagle-eyed beachgoer managed to capture the aircraft’s tail number, which linked back to Williamson.
When an investigator with the Federal Aviation Administration contacted the pilot, he claimed he got ice on one of the plane’s carburetors and was trying to deice it when a control knob popped off, according to an incident report.
He managed to patch the issue and explained that the plane briefly dipped before he regained control.
The investigator, though, didn’t buy his story. They told the sheriff’s office that all pilots are specifically instructed to continuously point toward the water or along the beach when bracing for a possible emergency landing, the outlet reported.
The FAA sent Williamson a letter with a 30-day deadline for his response. While the contents of the letter are unclear, Williamson never responded, and a judge approved a warrant for his arrest once the deadline expired.
Williamson was charged with breach of peace, aggravated in nature. He was released on a $5,000 bond shortly after turning himself in.