Small plane crashes near Moncks Corner

A single engine plane crashed about 250 yards away from the runway it was trying to land on at the Berkeley County Airport.

Emergency responders found only the pilot inside and after taking him to a local hospital, 48-year-old Manfred Stolle of Cornelius, N.C. was pronounced dead.

The Berkeley County Coroner’s Office says a witness say the plane coming toward the airport with it’s engine off.  They tell investigators the plane made it over the airport fence and then quickly went down.

Authorities say Stolle flew from North Carolina to Charleston on Thursday morning and was returning home in the afternoon when the crash occurred.  It happened shortly before 3 pm.

The F-A-A was onhand at the airport for other business and began investigating immediately.  No word on what may have caused the plane’s engine to fail.