MONCKS CORNER, S.C.—One day after an F-16 and Cessna collided in mid-air, Berkeley County Coroner Bill Salisbury has released the identities of the father and son killed when their small plane made impact with the military aircraft.
According to Bill Salisbury, the victims are 68-year-old Mike Johnson, the passenger, and 30-year-old Joe Johnson, the pilot. Bother were father and son.
Early Wednesday morning rescue crews recovered the body of the elder Johnson from the water near Lewisfield Plantation just off Old Highway 52.
First responders located his son’s body early Thursday morning.
For the last two days, crews have been busy recovering pieces of the plane on land and from in the water.
The Berkeley County Rescue Squad was the initial responding agency.
The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, North Charleston Police Department, DNR, Charleston County Rescue Squad and multiple other agencies are also now assisting.
Members of the United States Air Force and NTSB are also on scene investigating the crash.
Authorities say the F-16 pilot, Air Force Major Aaron Johnson, parachuted to safety and was picked up at Medway Plantation.
He was said to be on a solo mission practicing instrument-assisted approaches at Charleston Air Force Base.
The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation at this time.
The NTSB’s air safety investigator Dennis Diaz has stated that his investigators are still in the early stages of collecting data from the crash sites.
The oldest victim, Mike Johnson, taught carpentry in the Berkeley County School District.
Friends of Joe Johnson, a student pilot, stated that the young ambitious man had hoped to become a commercial pilot. Prior to the crash, he and his father were flying to Myrtle Beach and then cross-country to log the training hours he needed.
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