2 killed when small plane crashes into boat dealership in Harnett County

HARNETT COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A fiery plane crash left two men dead about an hour south of Raleigh in Harnett County.

Live pictures from Chopper 11 showed the plane crashed into part of a boat dealership.

The crash took place Friday in a rural part of Harnett County off Holly Springs Church Road.

An Aviat Pitts S-2B crashed near Broadway around 9:35 a.m. Two people were on board, according to the FAA.

The State Highway Patrol said the pilot, Anton Vandeth, and passenger Dwight Frye were both killed in the crash.

FAA investigators spent hours on-scene looking into what happened. The NTSB is expected to start its investigation Saturday morning.

Blane McDonald was doing construction work and had just finished pouring concrete when he said a naircraft crashed yards away from where he was working.

"(It) clipped over the building, it was coming down," said McDonald. (It's) not something you'd think you'd see every day."

He called 911.

"At first, you're in a shock and just like 'Whoa, what just happened?'" said McDonald. "Obviously, (there was a) big fire and spread the fuel."

The plane was traveling from Raleigh Executive Jetport in Sanford, and the Highway Patrol said it went down five minutes after takeoff.

The Highway Patrol said the two on board were severely burned.

In May, a plane crashed in a field near Raleigh Executive Jetport, leaving the pilot and a mechanic seriously injured.

The owner of the boat dealership declined to comment.

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