Five Amarillo Pickleball Club members were killed in a tiny plane crash late Thursday night in the Texas Hill Country while they were their route to a weekend tournament.
The Cessna 421C went down about 11:25 p.m. in Wimberley, a city about 40 miles southwest of Austin, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said. Emergency crews were summoned to the wooded area where the plane was found, wrecked and half devoured by fire.
Initial evidence suggests that the aircraft was moving at a high rate of speed at the time of impact, but there is no suggestion of a mid-air collision. Audio from air traffic control shows the pilot of another plane flying next to the Cessna said he had lost touch. “I haven’t had any word from him,” the pilot remarked on the recording . A controller replied, “He started to move erratically and now his track is disappeared from the scope. “So we want to make sure everything’s OK with him.
The plane left Amarillo at about 9:11 p.m. and was expected to arrive at New Braunfels National Airport shortly before 11:20 p.m. . Reports said passengers were on the way to a pickleball competition at the Cranky Pickle in New Braunfels, some 30 miles northeast of San Antonio.
Amarillo Pickleball Club president Dan Dyer said four of the victims were club members he had personally competed against. I have given them medals. They were great players. “They were trying to win some games,” Dyer told the Associated Press. “There are dozens of tournaments every weekend. Some people get the bug, some don’t. But once they do, they’ll be going to a tournament.
Witnesses close to the collision reported strange sounds before impact. “I was in bed when I heard a loud blast,” said resident Stacey Rohr. “It felt like everything was shaking around me,” she claimed. “The plane was way too close to my house, it was like my backyard was burning”. Another homeowner, Cecil Keith, said he heard a series of engine backfires — “pop, pop, pop” — as the jet passed over his home minutes before the accident.
Sgt. Billy Ray of the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the grisly scene. “The pilot and four passengers aboard were pronounced dead at the scene. The plane did catch on fire. That would be some pretty serious damage to the plane.”
Judge Becerra said the names of the victims will not be disclosed until family members have been notified. A second plane in the region landed safely at New Braunfels National Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the incident. An investigator has been sent to the scene by the NTSB , and after documentation is complete the wreckage will be taken to a secure facility for further evaluation . The National Weather Service said it was largely gloomy in the New Braunfels area at the time of the incident, and a rainstorm rolled in approximately two hours later.
Wimberley is a renowned tourist and hiking destination along the Blanco River in the Texas Hill Country. The community has about 3,000 residents. The Cranky Pickle, where the tournament was being held, canceled Friday’s games and planned to host a prayer vigil before Saturday’s games in memory of the players who died.
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