OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. – Friday’s aircraft incident that took the lives of Charlie and Scott Smith, Tony Elliott and Scott Bibler has been classified as accidental, according to a press release Monday evening from the Oconee County Coroner’s Office. An autopsy was performed Monday on Elliott and Bibler, following an autopsy on the Smiths Sunday. Monday’s autopsy revealed Elliott, 54, Warsaw, died from chest trauma and cervical spinal column trauma (fractured neck) due to blunt force trauma. Bibler, 51, Warsaw, died from chest trauma due to blunt force trauma. In a press release Sunday, Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis indicated Charlie Smith died from multiple injuries due to blunt force trauma and Scott Smith died from cervical spinal column trauma (fractured neck) due to blunt force trauma. The four local men were killed Friday when Charlie Smith’s Piper Saratoga PA-32 crashed near Lake Hartwell on the Georgia-South Carolina border. Charlie was flying the group so they could attend the University of Notre Dame football game at Clemson, S.C., Saturday. The Federal Aviation Administration is still investigating the cause of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board report on the crash will be completed in one to two weeks, with the final report in 12 months.
