Horry County released an audio recording of the 25 calls to 9-1-1 in the seconds and minutes following the January 18th plane crash that killed two people in North Myrtle Beach. The recording was requested by NewsChannel 15 through the Freedom of Information Act.
The calls inundated Horry County's 9-1-1 center and came from people inside the Briarcliffe RV Resort, where the plane crashed, as well as from nearby Barefoot Resort and Highway 17.
The calls demonstrate the urgency onlookers felt as they watched the after effects of the crash.
At first there was confusion as to what exactly happened.
"Oh my gosh there's small explosions happening," said one caller.
"We need fire trucks many fire trucks...a truck exploded and it's on fire and it's gonna some more I think," added one witness.
What she was seeing was the truck next to the RV hit by the plane. Inside that RV were Eva Sullivan, 70, and her husband. Eva was killed in the crash. Her husband sustained first degree burns but survived. The couple was visiting the Grand Strand from Sunappe, New Hampshire.
The pilot of the Cessna 172 Sky Hawk, Kenneth Thode, 62, from Plymouth, Massachusetts, was also killed.
The crash was so strong it affected nearby businesses.
"I heard a bang, and I felt the building shake and we ran out to see if somebody hit the building, and we saw smoke coming from the campground," said a caller.
"Inside the park there's flames, there's black smoke. It sounded like a small engine plane," added another.
Several callers said they could hear the engine rev several times, then it stopped.
"I think I just saw an airplane crash near the airport, behind Barefoot Landing," said one man.
A manager at the restaurant Dick's Last Resort said, "I don't know what it was. We just heard a really loud noise, and there's a stream of black smoke coming out."
After the crash the National Transportation Safety Board took the plane to Washington DC where it's being reexamined. The NTSB has said so far there's no evidence of any in-flight structural failure, control failure, or fire.
A preliminary report by the NTSB is expected in the next few days.
