Father, son among four dead in plane crash
WESTMINSTER — A single-engine plane crash in dismal conditions Friday afternoon killed four Notre Dame fans who were traveling to watch the football game against Clemson University and left a close-knit Indiana city reeling from the loss of four prominent community members.
The crash killed a championship-winning sprint car driver, two former high school football coaches, one of which was a current city councilman, and a son of one of the coaches who was an attorney.
All four lived in Warsaw, Indiana, about 45 minutes outside South Bend.
Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis identified the men as: Charles D. Smith, 71; his son, Scott A. Smith, 44; Tony L. Elliott, 54; and Scott D. Bibler, 51.
There were no survivors.
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the crash, which happened on the shores of Lake Hartwell near Westminster at about 3:15 p.m. Friday.
An investigator arrived on scene Saturday to begin documenting evidence and a preliminary report could be released in about a week to 10 days, said Peter Knudson, a NTSB spokesman.
A call to Oconee 911 at 3:13 p.m. Friday reported a plan spiraling downward near the lake, said Karl Addis, Oconee County coroner.
An official at Oconee County Regional Airport said the plane was flying from Warsaw to the Oconee airport and the pilot had filed a flight plan. Conditions around the Oconee airport were “dismal” Friday afternoon, the official said.
Some details about the flight environment may be listed in the preliminary NTSB report, but officials hadn’t pieced together complete information about the weather conditions and the storm’s role in the crash yet, Knudson said.
The bulk of the wreckage was located in the Tabor community of Oconee County near the South Carolina/Georgia state line, Addis said.
Some wreckage was also located on the Georgia side of the lake and more may have sunk into Lake Hartwell, said the NTSB’s Knudson.
A contractor will resume collecting the plane wreckage on Monday, he said.
Charles Smith was piloting the plane and his son Scott was in the front passenger seat. Elliott was a rear passenger. Bibler’s seat was unknown, Addis said.
“The airplane, a 1984 single-engine Piper Saratoga, departed Warsaw, Indiana at approximately midday and was scheduled to land at the Oconee County Airport,” Addis said. “The individuals were traveling to Clemson to attend the Clemson-Notre Dame Football game.”
Autopsies will be scheduled to assist in the investigation, he said.
Elliott was a champion race car driver who won the U.S. Auto Club national sprint car series in 1998 and 2000.
Tony Stewart Racing posted a message on Facebook early Saturday that said Elliott was a “fierce competitor on the track, he was also a father, husband, son, brother and friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Elliott family at this time. Godspeed & Rest In Peace.”
Elliott was a force on the race track for two decades and had retired from the track recently to focus on his business selling custom trailers and golf carts, said Scott Stine, a staff member at an Indiana Plymouth Speedway.
Elliott was married and had two children who were both enrolled at Indiana University, Stine said.
“He treated everyone he met as if he woke up in the morning just to talk to them. He was bright, charismatic, full of life,” Stine said.
Charlie Smith and his son Scott were huge Notre Dame and Green Bay Packers football fans who flew from coast to coast to watch their teams play, said Joe Thallemer, mayor of Warsaw, a city of about 14,000 southeast of South Bend.
Charlie Smith was Thallemer’s next door neighbor on Winona Lake in Warsaw while Elliott lived across the lake.
“I hate to say it’s a small town but my former father-in-law was piloting the airplane and my lawyer was his son,” Stine said.
Charlie Smith was a four-term city councilman who’d retired after a career as a local banker. Before that, he taught for 16 years, started Tippecanoe Valley High School’s football program in 1975 and led the team to a state championship in 1979.
He was an avid pilot and served on the aviation board of the city’s airport. He used his plane mostly to fly to football games, Thallemer said.
Charlie loved football,” Thallemer said. “He loved Notre Dame. And he loved the Green Bay Packers. He used his plane quite a bit to go to the away games. He pretty much flew to most of the away games.”
His son Scott accompanied him to most of those games.
Scott graduated from Tippecanoe Valley High and returned to practice law in the city, where he also served as deputy prosecuting attorney for three counties. He had a longtime girlfriend and was like a father to her two sons, Stine said.
Bibler was also a member of Smith’s 1979 state championship football team and was himself a former Tippecanoe Valley football coach who taught for 25 years, according to the local news site inkfreenews.com.