Mar 16 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Robert Gary Jones, a 38 year old married father of two children was killed instantly when he was struck from behind by an airplane on Hilton Head Beach. The man, who was from Woodstock, Ga was apparently jogging along the beach and listening to his iPod, when the plane struck him during an emergency landing. It is believed that Jones never saw nor heard the plane coming.

The single engine plane had lost the propeller, and was basically soundlessly gliding to a landing on the beach of Hilton Head Island. The pilot’s windshield was covered with oil and he was unable to see the jogger on the ground, according to the Buford County Coroner, Ed Allen.

A spokeswoman for the Hilton Head fire and rescue, Joheida Fister stated that the identities of both the pilot and the passenger of the Experimental Lancair IV-P plane are not yet being released, but that the two were not injured. The plane had began to leak oil at 13,000 feet, and the pilot had originally planned to land at the Hilton Head Airport, but could not make it.

The oil sprayed the windshield and blocked the pilot’s view and the propeller came off the plane. When he tried to land on the beach, near the Hilton Head Marriott Resort and Spa, the plane struck the jogger from behind before landing a little further down the beach, Fister told reporters. She went on to say that she has to admit that it is pretty unusual, and is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Board. It does seem to be a tragic accident. Our hearts go out to the Jones family.