Millionaire parents and their two sons aged 28 and 30 die in private plane crash while flying home to Alabama mansion

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 13:42, 20 April 2026 | Updated: 13:47, 20 April 2026 A wealthy couple and their two sons all died in a plane crash while flying from North Carolina to their mansion in Alabama.  James 'Tony' Moffatt, 60, his wife Leasa Moffatt, 61, and their sons Andrew, 30, and William, 28, died on Friday when their plane crashed into a woodland near Union County Airport.  Officials said the family were flying from Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina to their home in Huntsville, Alabama, where they lived in a $1.4 million compound, records show.  Shortly before the crash, the family had stopped briefly in Union County, South Carolina to refuel their Mooney M20P single-prop plane.  The family's plane crashed into a wooded area near the Union County Airport runway shortly after taking off.  The crash site was so deep in the forest that the state Forestry Service had to deploy a bulldozer to clear a path to the aircraft and to retrieve the victims, authorities said.  The cause of the crash is not yet clear, and the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.  Investigators said James had been piloting the aircraft, and pictures shared to social media showed the father was an enthusiastic amateur pilot.  James 'Tony' Moffatt, 60, was tragically killed when a plane he was piloting crashed near an airport in South Carolina, along with his wife and two sons  James was piloting the plane when it crashed, killing him, his sons and wife Leasa Moffatt, 61, who was described as a 'bright light' in touching tributes following the tragedy Brothers Andrew, 30, and William, 28, were also killed in the crash  Tributes poured in for the family following news of the tragedy.  The Huntsville Volleyball Academy said the Moffatt family had been popular members of their homeschooling program, and said James had been a coach for the team.  The academy said the family's surviving daughters were members, while Andrew was a photographer for the team.  'Leasa was always, always a bright light in the stands or at court side,' the team said.  The Freedom Cowboys Football team in Alabama said James was also a coach for their team on which his son William played, and said the family 'represented the foundational spiritual principles that we hope we demonstrate in all that we do.'  'Our hearts are broken,' the team said on social media.   James, who was piloting the plane, seen with his son Andrew The cause of the crash is not yet clear, and the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident. Pictured: William Moffatt  Officials said the family were flying home to Huntsville, Alabama, and they had stopped briefly in at Union County Airport in South Carolina (pictured) to refuel shortly before crashing near the runway Friend Irene Tucker also wrote on social media that Leasa was a devoted mother who 'carried a lightness of spirit that brought joy to others so effortlessly.'  'Her words - often witty, always kind - were a reflection of a gracious and thoughtful heart,' she said.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.