West Virginia Steel president dies in plane crash

GEORGETOWN, S.C. — The president of West Virginia Steel Corp. was killed when his war replica plane crashed in South Carolina on Monday afternoon.

Investigators said 79-year-old John Prince Harris of Charleston, W.Va., was killed when the decommissioned military aircraft he was flying crashed in a wooded area about a half-mile short of the Georgetown County Airport.

According to the FAA, the plane was a Folland Gnat T1, a British subsonic jet trainer and fighter aircraft introduced in the 1950s.

Georgetown County coroner Kenny Johnson told the Myrtle Beach Sun News that Harris was the only person in the plane.

Harris, who had served as a pilot in the Air National Guard, reportedly was on his way to visit his wife and friends when he crashed.

Harris’ body was sent for an autopsy. Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.