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Editor: James T. Crouse
Profession: Aviation Accident Attorney

Category: Plane Crashes

Skipper Beck, a prominent business owner in Charlotte was killed around 7:00 a. m. on Sept. 11 when his single engine Cirrus SR22 crashed in Rock Hill York County Airport. Eye witnesses stated the plane had mechanical problems shortly after takeoff and crashed as he was trying to return to the airport, catching fire upon impact. The Cirrus SR22 G3 Turbo was valued at $525,500.

The plane was registered to Beck Management Group of which Beck was the CEO. The management group had interests in several ventures including the auto business, aviation, and sports. Beck was co-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.

According to one account, the SR22 by Cirrus Design is extremely popular among purchasers of new aircraft and has become the world's best selling single engine four seat aircraft. It is a high performance more powerful version of the Cirrus SR20 with larger wings, larger fuel capacity and a 310 horsepower engine. Unlike most other high performance aircraft (except the Cessna 400) the SR22 has a non-retractable landing gear. It is also equipped with CAPS - the Cirrus Aircraft Parachute System - parachute which lowers the entire aircraft to the ground in an emergency.