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Plane crash kills 5 in Wimberley area
A small plane crashed overnight in the Wimberley area. Officials say all five people on board are dead. FOX 7 Austin's Jessica Rivera has more.
WIMBERLEY, Texas - Five people have been killed in a plane crash overnight in the Wimberley area.
The NTSB is investigating what led to the crash.
What they're saying:
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra says first responders received the call just after 11 p.m. April 30 about an aircraft down in the Wimberley area.
The crash happened in a wooded area in the 200 block of Round Rock Road, near the area of Ledgerock Road and FM 2325, northwest of Wimberley. The NTSB says the crash happened at around 11:03 p.m.
A post-impact fire destroyed the plane, says the NTSB.
According to FlightAware, the plane was on its way to New Braunfels from Amarillo.
The aircraft has been identified as a Cessna 421C that had five people on board. All five are confirmed dead.
A preliminary investigation shows the plane was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the crash, but there is no indication of a mid-air crash. A second plane traveling in the same area landed safely in New Braunfels.
Flight tracking data shows the plane had a normal takeoff, climbing to 17,400 feet, but just before 11 p.m., something went wrong. The data showed the plane suddenly started dropped, plunging more than 5,000 feet per minute. Within minutes, radar contact was lost.
Dig deeper:
The Associated Press says that according to Air Traffic Control audio, one pilot said he and the pilot of the crashed Cessna had been flying to New Braunfels together.
At least one pilot in the area confirmed the Cessna's locator emergency device had emitted a distress signal, says the AP. The controller called 911.
What's next:
The FAA and the NTSB have been notified about the crash and will be leading the investigation, says Becerra.
The NTSB told FOX 7 Austin that an investigator is on their way to the site and that after the wreckage is documented on scene, it will be moved to a secure facility for further evaluation.
The NTSB will be looking into three primary areas as part of the investigation: the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment, and gathering records such as flight track data, aircraft maintenance records, air traffic control recordings and more.
The names of those on board are not being released pending notification of next of kin.
"It felt like an earthquake" says neighbor
Local perspective:
"I had just gone to bed and I was just laying there and I heard like these weird noises. I don’t really know how to explain them but it was something like a space craft of some sort or aircraft, like buzzing, & then I heard, or felt I should say, this vibration. It felt like an earthquake," Stacey Rohr, who lives nearby, said to FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis.
Moments later, she saw flames in the dark.
"I thought it was like, the back of my place was on fire," Rohr said, "I didn’t know, I had no idea what it was, but that something fell from the sky and was on fire."
"It’s just sad these souls are here on the property, the five people, and I just feel like I’m here to help have a ceremony of some sort to help these souls to the other side," Rohr said.
For Rohr, who heard and felt the crash, she said the shock hasn’t worn off.
"It feels like I’m in the twilight zone really, this doesn’t even seem real," Rohr said.
The Source: Information in this report comes from Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra, the FAA, the NTSB, the Associated Press and reporting by FOX 7 Austin's Jessica Rivera and Meredith Aldis