LEXINGTON, S.C. — A pilot of an aircraft that crashed in Lexington County this month made a mayday call and said he had engine failure moments before the plane went down, according to an early report by federal investigators.
The National Transportation Safety Board issued its preliminary investigation report into the crash which took place on February 6. The crash killed the passenger, identified as 30-year-old Andrew Frederick Nichols of Huntsville, Alabama. The pilot was taken to an area hospital. They were the only two people aboard.
The NTSB says the Cirrus SR22 aircraft began its trip from Decatur, Alabama on February 3 and stopped in Wilmington, NC before going to Columbia Metropolitan Airport on February 4. The plane stayed there for two nights, according to investigators…