Five members of a pickleball club were killed late Thursday evening on their way to a tournament when the private plane they were flying in crashed in a wooded area of the Texas Hill Country.
Fire crews and emergency medical personnel responded around 11:05 p.m. last night to a report of a downed aircraft on the 200 block of Round Rock Road near Wimberley, just outside of Austin, and remained on scene until early Friday.
"Based on current findings, there is no indication of a mid-air collision," he added. "A second aircraft traveling in the vicinity landed safely in New Braunfels."
The pilot of the second aircraft said in recorded air traffic control audio that he and the Cessna pilot were flying near each other while en route to New Braunfels.
"I haven’t heard anything from him," the pilot said in the recording.
"He started to move erratically and now his track is disappeared from the scope," the air traffic controller responded. "So we want to make sure everything’s all right with him."
Speaking with KXAN News, local resident Stacey Rohr recounted hearing the loud plane crash, saying it felt almost like an earthquake.
Mark Gilmere, who also lives in the area, told KXAN he initially thought it was a lightning strike.
"But as we got closer to the fire, we started to see metal fuselage," he said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were notified of the crash and are leading the investigation into what caused the plane to go down, Becerra said.
"Out of respect for the families involved, the identities of those on board are not being released at this time pending notification of next of kin," he said. "This remains an active investigation. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available."