What started out as a fun sunset adventure became a nightmare when two people were killed in the crash of a unique aircraft 14 years ago just offshore of the Isle of Palms. It is a scene seared into the memory of boaters and beachgoers who witnessed the accident. The Ultralight Zodiac is essentially a small two-passenger flying pontoon boat, weighing 500 pounds, with a motor-driven propeller at the stern and hang glider wings above the garage- sized craft. Launched from the shore like a boat, the amphibious aircraft glides along the water for 200 feet, gradually increasing speed to 75 mph, then lifts off and soars to a height of up to 10,000 feet above the water.
On the afternoon of July 20, 2011, Lucas McDowell Smith and Cara Lee (Carly) Donohue embarked on Smith’s flying boat. Smith was an experienced pilot on this type of aircraft and, for over a decade, had taken friends on flights east of the Cooper. This was not Donohue’s first venture on the Zodiac either. But this time, it would be her last. According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s final report, Smith performed an aero loop and was midway through another when the wing folded and caused the aircraft to ➗ straight down into shallow water. One passenger was thrown from the aircraft, dropping from an altitude of 1,000 feet. The other was still strapped into the seat when nearby boaters arrived at the wreckage. Both died of blunt force trauma.
The 40-year-old Smith and his 27-year-old passenger were both residents of Mount Pleasant. Smith, a husband and father of two, had grown up on Sullivan’s Island and was described as having a personality larger than life. He had countless friends who said he never met a stranger. He was the owner of Pelican Dry Cleaners as well as the charter boat Osprey which was moored at Shem Creek. Donohue, first mate on the Osprey, hailed from Kentucky and worked as the marketing coordinator for Smith’s charter boat business. Friends characterized her as a free spirit who lived life to the fullest.
Smith and Donohue shared a spirit of adventure and adventurous types are always looking for new ways to explore the abundant recreational activities that are available to us here on the coast. But those activities often come with risks – and sometimes end in tragedy.
By Mary Coy
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