SC stunt pilot who performed Beaufort Water Festival dies in Georgia crash

A South Carolina stunt pilot who has performed at the Beaufort Water Festival in the past and was scheduled to perform again in July died in a plane crash at a Georgia air show Saturday.

Greg Connell died when his plane crashed during the show at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Georgia, according to multiple media reports. Connell was scheduled to perform at the festival again July 23.

Water Festival commodore Chris Canaday said Monday he believes this would have been Connell’s fifth appearance at the Water Festival. Another pilot, Mark Sorenson, was also scheduled to perform, and the air show will go on as scheduled, Canaday said.

The show is also expected to include parachutists and a U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue demonstration.

Connell is a North Augusta native and University of South Carolina graduate living in Trenton, S.C., according to his Facebook page. He began flying in 1989.

Video of the crash at Good Neighbor Day air show in Atlanta, posted to YouTube the same day, shows two planes crossing paths at low altitude. As one plane dives and rises again, the other plane can be seen crashing and catching fire.

The public-address announcer asked parents to turn their children away from the scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, a process that could take a year, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. The crash was the first in the show’s 30-year history, the newspaper reported.

Connell told The Augusta Chronicle in 2008 he was obsessed with flying, as he had been with golf and music. And he knew the risk.

“That’s the rush," he told the Chronicle. “It’s knowing that if you don't do something right, this thing will bite you.”

In 2015, Connell flew his Pitts Model 12 biplane in the Beaufort Water Festival with fellow stunt pilot Buck Roetman.

The Water Festival posted condolences to its Facebook page Sunday night.

“Greg was an avid pilot who flew many of our air shows over the last several years and was always a joy to have,” the post said.

Connell was a commercial pilot with multi-engine and instrument ratings, according to his website. He was born and raised in North Augusta and exposed to flying early in life by his father, Charlie, his biography said.

“Please keep Greg's Family and Friends in your prayers,” a post to Greg Connell Airshows Facebook page said Saturday night. “There are no words to describe what we all are feeling right now. God Bless & Godspeed Greg...”

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 9:33 AM with the headline "SC stunt pilot who performed Beaufort Water Festival dies in Georgia crash."