An award-winning local Fox reporter in New Orleans and the pilot of a small plane are dead after their aircraft went down on Friday, Aug. 16, in a field near a city airport.
The station said the 53-year-old journalist was shooting a story about a stunt pilot when it crashed.
The pilot was identified as Franklin J.P. Augustus by the station. Augustus also died in the crash.
Parker is survived by her husband, Glen Boyd, and three children.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards praised Parker's professionalism and sent his condolences to her family.
"An Emmy-winning reporter, cancer advocate, and author, Nancy used her platform to tell stories that mattered to the people of our state," Edwards wrote on Facebook.
"Please join your prayers to mine and Donna's for Nancy's husband and three children as they come to terms with this shocking loss," the governor added.
The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) also sent their deepest condolences to Nancy's family and FOX 8 News.
"And to the entire FOX 8 News family, thank you for sharing Nancy with us for so many years. She will be so greatly missed," the post continued.
A Federal Aviation Administration statement said the plane was a 1983 Pitts S-2B aircraft that crashed in an empty field about a half-mile south of the airport, which accommodates smaller aircraft, under unknown circumstances. That model aircraft is a biplane.
New Orleans Homeland Security Director Collin Arnold told reporters the plane crashed about 3 p.m., causing a fire.
“It looks like the plane is completely charred,” said Gerald Herbert, an Associated Press photographer who also is a pilot and has a hangar at Lakefront Airport. He went to the site and described charred debris lying near a fence in a grassy field.
Numerous emergency responders were on scene, including the city’s fire and police departments and emergency medical personnel.
Arnold did not confirm whether there were reports of engine failure. He said those details would be part of the investigation.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.