Boy Scouts help pilot after plane crashes into river

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Authorities are lauding a group of Boy Scouts for their quick thinking and response after a small plane crashed in Calhoun County over the weekend.

The Department of Natural Resources says a pilot was able to bring a Mooney 20 down in the Congaree River at around 2:15 p.m. Saturday.

The Georgia Boy Scout troop was on their annual Christmas paddling trip down the Congaree when the small plane plummeted into the water.

The plane was completely submerged in water. Officials say the scouts helped the pilot, who was taken to a hospital to be checked out. He'll be OK.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane had taken off from an airfield in Columbia.

Authorities are still investigating the crash.

WSOC