On Thursday, April 30, a small aircraft that was carrying pickleball players, crashed in Texas Hill Country, killing the five onboard. The crash occurred at around 11 p.m., southwest of Austin according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Five dead after small plane crashes in Texas Hill Country
The names of the victims were released by authorities immediately, but the Amarillo Pickleball Club, Texas, confirmed they were members travelling to a tournament. The aircraft, a Cessna 421C, had departed from Amarillo and was bound for New Braunfels National Airport (BAZ), according to flight records. Aerial photographs published online by the Austin American-Statesman showed the plane to be completely torn up in a wooden area.
A local resident, Stacy Rohr, rang her landlord once the crash happened:
“It was so close I felt like it was the back of my place up in flames,”
Another resident, Cecil Keith, had said that he heard something like an engine backfiring, as the plane passed over his house before the crash.
The president of the Amarillo Pickleball Club, Dan Dyer, said he had played numerous games with four out of the five people who lost their lives to the crash.
Dryer stated:
“I’ve handed them medals. They were excellent players. They were out to win some games. Every weekend there are dozens of tournaments. Some people get the bug; others don’t. But once they do, they’ll travel for a tournament.”
Second aircraft travelling with group lands safely
Dyer revealed that a second aircraft had been travelling from the same event in Amarillo simultaneously The second aircraft had touched down safely, at the airport in New Braunfels, the pilot stating that he hadn’t heard from the first pilot.
The controller stated:
“He started to move erratically and now his track has disappeared from the scope. So we want to make sure everything’s all right with him,”
One pilot in the vicinity confirmed that the stricken plane’s emergency locator device had triggered a distress signal.
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Aviation Reporter - A driven media professional and aspiring magazine journalist and self-published author, with a BA in Media, Journalism and Publishing from Oxford Brookes University. Inspired by writers such as Maya Angelou, they balance professional work alongside personal projects, maintaining a strong commitment to creative independence through their podcast and blogs.
