Small plane crash in Texas Hill Country kills all 5 on board: officials

A small plane crashed among trees in Texas Hill Country, killing all five people aboard, officials said Friday.

The crash happened Thursday night in Wimberley, a city about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Austin, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said in a Facebook post.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Cessna 421C crashed around 11:25 p.m. with five people on board. It said the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

The plane took off from Amarillo, Texas, about two hours earlier and was headed to New Braunfels National Airport, according to the flight history. Aerial photos posted online by the Austin American-Statesman showed the aircraft destroyed in a wooded area.

Becerra said he would not release the names of the victims until family has been notified.

He said a second aircraft traveling in the area landed safely at the airport in New Braunfels, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of San Antonio.

According to Air Traffic Control audio, one pilot said he and the Cessna pilot were flying there together.

“I haven’t heard anything from him,” the pilot says on the recording.

A controller responds: “He started to move erratically and now his track is disappeared from the scope. So we want to make sure everything’s all right with him.”

At least one pilot in the area confirmed the troubled plane’s locator emergency device had emitted a distress signal. The controller called 911.

According to the National Weather Service, it was mostly cloudy in the New Braunfels area shortly before the crash but there was a thunderstorm two hours later.

Wimberley, with a population of about 3,000, is a popular tourist and hiking destination in the Texas Hill Country next to the Blanco River.