A small aircraft crash in Texas Hill Country has claimed the lives of all five people on board after the plane went down in a wooded area near Wimberley on Thursday night, April 30.
Authorities said the Cessna 421C crashed around 11:25 p.m. in Hays County, roughly 40 miles southwest of Austin.
The county judge, Ruben Becerra, confirmed the incident in a public Facebook post, noting that recovery efforts were underway and the victims’ identities would be released after their families were notified.
The aircraft had taken off from Amarillo, Texas, about two hours earlier and was en route to New Braunfels National Airport when it lost contact. Aerial images published by the Austin American-Statesman showed the plane completely destroyed in a heavily wooded area.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crash and said both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Officials also noted that another aircraft travelling in the same area landed safely in New Braunfels, located about 30 miles northeast of San Antonio. A pilot from that aircraft told air traffic control that he had been flying alongside the Cessna before it began experiencing trouble.
In audio recordings from air traffic control, concern is heard from controllers as the aircraft’s movements became erratic before it vanished from radar.
A pilot in the vicinity also reported that the Cessna had activated its emergency locator transmitter, prompting controllers to contact emergency services.
The National Weather Service reported mostly cloudy conditions in the area shortly before the crash, with thunderstorms developing later in the night, about two hours after the incident.
Investigators are still working to determine what caused the aircraft to lose control and crash into the wooded terrain.
