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A plane owned by Warsaw City Councilman Charlie Smith crashed Friday afternoon in Oconee County, S.C., resulting in four deaths. Smith, his son, Scott Smith, former Tippecanoe Valley football coach Scott Bibler and Warsaw resident Tony Elliot have been confirmed as the four passengers, according to WNDU, South Bend. The plane is registered to Smith Family Aviation LLC of 1902 N. Bay Drive, Warsaw, which is owned Charlie Smith. The names of the passengers have not been released by officials as of Friday night, and Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer deferred questions until South Carolina authorities give confirmation. Warsaw Police Chief Scott Whitaker was contacting South Carolina authorities regarding the details of the crash Friday, according to greenvilleonline.com. The single-engine Piper crashed on the bank of Lake Hartwell, the South Carolina publication says. Oconee County Emergency Services located the wreckage and four bodies sometime after 3:30 p.m. when air traffic controllers lost contact with the flight. The plane left Warsaw Municipal Airport just before noon Friday and was scheduled to arrive at Oconee County Regional Airport at 3:17 p.m., according to flight status information from http://travel.flightexplorer.com The Federal Aviation Administration received a mayday transmission from the plane at 3:15 p.m. and then alerted authorities and airports in the area. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the wreck. Charlie Smith was a member of the Warsaw Common Council District 2. Smith worked at Lake City Bank in various positions from 1983 to 2011, and was named the Warsaw/ Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year in 2001. Smith was a member of Warsaw Rotary Club, a former graduate and past president of Kosciusko Leadership Academy and a former member of the Kosciusko County Educational Council. He was also involved with Junior Achievement, March of Dimes, United Way of Kosciusko County, Warsaw Combined Community Services, American Lung Association, Leukemia Society of America and Boy Scouts of America, according to Warsaw.in.gov
