On Tuesday July 7, an F-16 jet fighter and a small plane, Cessna 150 collided midair near Charleston.
The Cessna 150 was piloted by Joseph Johnson, 30, with his father Michael Johnson, 68, on board. The father's body has been found by authorities at the Cooper River in a rural area in South Carolina.
The F-16 was piloted by Maj. Aaron Johnson from the 55th Fighter Squadron. He was in communication with the Charleston Air Traffic Controllers during the flight, practicing instrument approaches to a military base and was flying solo. He crashed around the Lewisfield Plantation and was taken to Joint Base Charleston's Medical Clinic for treatment and observation, according to KXAN.
Days before the incident, Michael Johnson's family was in mourning due to the death of James Johnson, Michael's brother, and Beverly Johnson, his sister-in-law, who were found dead in their home in Missouri. Authorities charged their grandson, who is 16-years-old with the second-degree murder. Their grandson, whom the couple adopted after they retired, did not socialize with neighbors. Beverly even home studied him.
"We're a very close-knit neighborhood, but they just weren't receptive," said Kelly Steele, one of the victims' neighbors.
"It's unbelievable. There just aren't words to express it. I'm dumbfounded that it happened twice in a few days," said Connie Stallworth, James and Michael Johnson's sister after the consecutive deaths of her two brothers and family members, ABC news reported.
Meanwhile, National Transportation Safety Board headed by Investigator Dennis Diaz is working with other agencies to come up with the cause of the collision.
"Both aircraft had operable transponders that basically report back to the radar site the aircraft's location and altitude. I know the data's there, and we're going to be reviewing it," said Dennis Diaz, according to USA Today.
