Report Released After Co-Owner Of Charlotte Bob Cats Dies In Single-engine Plane Crash

The National Transportation Safety Boardhas released a preliminary report on a plane crash in SouthCarolina that killed a North Carolina businessman.

By: Associated Press | News Channel 7
Published: September 22, 2009

Update September 22, 4:33 p.m.

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board
has released a preliminary report on a plane crash in South
Carolina that killed a North Carolina businessman.
Multiple media outlets reported Tuesday that William "Skipper"
Beck's wife told investigators her husband intended to practice
takeoffs and landings the day he died. No evidence of engine
malfunction was found for the Cirrus SR22, which crashed Sept. 11
at the Rock Hill/York County Airport.
The NTSB report says witnesses reported loud noises from the
plane's engine and saw smoke after it disappeared behind trees.
Beck usually flew with a co-pilot who was a certified flight
instructor, but he was alone when he crashed.
Beck had small part ownership of the Charlotte Bobcats. It will
take months to get a final report on the crash.

**Update 1:00 p.m.**
ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) - A North Carolina businessman has died in a single-engine plane crashed in South Carolina.
York County Coroner Sabrina Gast says 49-year-old William "Skipper" Beck, of Charlotte, N.C., died in the crash around 7:15 a.m. Friday at the Rock Hill/York County Airport. He was a co-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.
Gast and the Federal Aviation Administration say Beck was the only person aboard the Cirrus SR22. Witnesses say the plane returned shortly after take off, but crashed as it tried to land and caught fire.
An Internet flight tracking site says the plane flew from New Jersey to Rock Hill on Wednesday.
Charlotte Bobcats owner Robert L. Johnson issued a statementFriday saying that Beck was instrumental in bringing the Bobcats tothe area.

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration says one person is dead after a single-engine plane crashed in South Carolina.
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the only person in the plane died in the crash around 7:15 a.m. Friday at the Rock Hill/York County Airport. The person's name has not been released.
A call to the York County coroner was not immediately returned.
Witnesses say the Cirrus SR22 returned shortly after departing, but crashed as it tried to land and caught fire.
An Internet flight tracking site says the plane flew from New Jersey to Rock Hill on Wednesday. It is registered to Beck Management Group in Charlotte, N.C.
A call to the company was not immediately returned.