Union County, South Carolina — A quiet Friday evening turned into a scene of deep sorrow near Union County Airport after a family of four lost their lives in a sudden plane crash. The victims were identified as James Moffatt, 60; Leasa Moffatt, 61; Andrew Moffatt, 30; and William Moffatt, 28.
The family, all residents of Huntsville, Alabama, were traveling together on what was expected to be a routine flight home. What should have been a short stop for fuel ended in disaster just outside the airport area.
Officials say the group had departed from the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina earlier that day. Their destination was Huntsville, Alabama, with Union County marked as a planned refueling stop along the way.
The aircraft they were flying in was a Mooney M20P, a single-engine plane. Reports indicate it went down near the airport around 6:30 p.m., cutting the journey short in a sudden and violent crash.
Emergency crews rushed to the area after reports of smoke rising nearby. Recovery efforts were slow and difficult, with forestry teams using heavy equipment to reach the wreckage hidden in rough terrain.
All four family members were confirmed dead at the scene. There were no survivors. The loss has left relatives, friends, and the broader community in shock, struggling to process how quickly everything changed.
Authorities from multiple agencies responded, including aviation investigators and local law enforcement. The crash site has been secured as officials begin the careful process of examining what went wrong.
For now, the Moffatt family is being remembered as a close-knit unit whose final journey together ended in tragedy. In Union County and beyond, their names are now tied to a moment of loss that has left a lasting silence.
