Brooks said the pilot, identified as 59-year-old Walker Hester, of Marietta, Georgia, was killed and nobody else was on the plane.

Officials said a helicopter flying over the scene found some wreckage in a swampy area of the Pee Dee River. Brooks said an eyewitness saw the plane go down in the river.

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An aerial view captures a large area under construction for a new data center campus on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Developed by QTS, the data center campus near Fayetteville is one of the largest under construction in Georgia. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez