5 days ago
‘Something you can never replace': NC widows sue Myrtle Beach aviation company after husbands 2022 plane crash deaths
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Two North Carolina widows say they're heartbroken and frustrated after filing a federal lawsuit in February against a Myrtle Beach-based aviation company that may be liable for the deaths of their husbands.
'As much as we don't want to go to trial, we will do anything for justice,' widow Toni Titone said.
Terry Druffel and Barrie McMurtrie died in a single-engine plane crash in a wooded area outside of Conway in September 2022.
Almost six hours after the crash, widow Linda Druffel says the Horry County coroner called her and Toni Titone to tell them their husbands died at the scene. The widows told News13 the plane was in flames when it crashed.
They say authorities could not identify their husbands until they found McMurtrie's logbook.
'This is the only thing I have left of my husband,' Linda said, holding the center of her necklace. 'It's his wedding ring from that crash.'
The widows' wrongful death and negligence lawsuit says Druffel and McMurtrie flew McMurtrie's single-engine Piper PA-28R on September 14, 2022. The lawsuit claims Myrtle Beach-based Executive Helijet Aviation worked on that plane months earlier.
Linda says experts who examined the plane told her, within about 10 minutes of the flight, oil started leaking from the engine.
When Druffel and McMurtrie tried to land in a landfill area, their right wing hit a tree.
Titone and Linda say their husbands were experienced pilots. McMurtrie flew for 30 years.
Druffel spent 24 years in the Navy as a helicopter pilot and 25 years with his commercial pilot's license.
'My nephews, today, just got their private pilot's licenses because of Uncle Terry, who started flying with them when they were little boys,' Linda said.
In its final report in December 2023, the National Transportation Safety Board said the probable cause of the crash was the mechanic's failure to install a required gasket on the vacuum pump drive pad, which led to a loss of engine power.
Linda said 16 months before Druffel and McMurtrie died, another pilot crashed and died after Executive Helijet Aviation allegedly put equipment into his plane upside down.
'Three wonderful pilots, three wonderful men, were killed because of their negligence,' Linda said.
Titone says Executive Helijet's insurance company initially offered her and Linda a $2 million policy. However, the insurance company eventually told the widows they would not be getting that money.
Linda and Titone are suing the aviation company for more than $75,000.
'We didn't just lose our husbands,' Titone said. 'We lost a lot of financial stability, and we lost love.'
'We lost something you can never replace,' Linda added.
In response to the widows' complaint, Executive Helijet Aviation denies any liability for the crash.
News13 reached out to Executive Helijet's lawyer, but we have not heard back.
Court records show jury selection is set for March 2, 2026.
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Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and read more of her work here.
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