NC businessman dies in SC plane crash

AP Photo/The Charlotte Observer, Davie Hinshaw

Emergency personnel look over the debris site of a Cirrus SR22 plane that crashed at the Rock Hill York County Airport Friday morning, Sept. 11, 2009 in Rock Hill, S.C. William "Skipper" Beck, a North Carolina businessman who was a co-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats NBA basketball team died in the crash.

The Associated Press

Published: September 11, 2009

ROCK HILL, S.C. - A North Carolina businessman has died in a single-engine plane crash in South Carolina.

York County Coroner Sabrina Gast says 49-year-old William "Skipper" Beck, of Charlotte, N.C., died in the crash around 7:15 a.m. Friday at the Rock Hill/York County Airport.

He had small part ownership of the Charlotte Bobcats and for many years owned an import car dealership.

Gast and the Federal Aviation Administration say Beck was the only person aboard the Cirrus SR22. Witnesses say the plane returned shortly after take off but crashed as it tried to land and caught fire.

Charlotte Bobcats owner Robert L. Johnson issued a statement Friday saying that Beck was instrumental in bringing the Bobcats to the area.