Five people were killed when a small aircraft carrying members of a pickleball club went down in the wooded hills of central Texas late Thursday night, according to officials.
The crash occurred around 11 p.m. near Wimberley, roughly 40 miles southwest of Austin. Authorities from the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed that all five individuals on board, including the pilot, were found dead at the scene. Their identities had not been released as of Friday. The Amarillo Pickleball Club later shared that the victims were members of their group traveling to a tournament.
Flight records show the aircraft, a Cessna 421C, had departed from Amarillo and was en route to New Braunfels National Airport. Images taken from above and shared by local media showed the wreckage scattered among dense trees. Federal agencies have taken the lead in investigating the cause of the crash.
A nearby resident, Stacey Rohr, described being startled awake by the impact. She said the force of the crash caused her home to shake, making her fear a fire had broken out nearby. She quickly contacted her landlord after the incident.
The group had been heading to a pickleball event at the Cranky Pickle facility in New Braunfels, located northeast of San Antonio. Martin Robertson, the head professional at the venue, said the tournament scheduled for Friday was canceled in response to the tragedy. He added that organizers plan to honor the victims with a moment of prayer before play resumes.
Members of the Amarillo Pickleball Club expressed deep grief over the loss. Club president Dan Dyer said he had played frequently with four of the individuals and described them as skilled and competitive players.
At the same time, another aircraft traveling from Amarillo to the same event landed safely in New Braunfels. Air traffic control recordings captured concern when the crashed plane began behaving unpredictably before disappearing from radar. A distress signal from the aircraft’s emergency locator transmitter was later detected, prompting authorities to call emergency services.
Weather conditions in the area were reported as mostly cloudy shortly before the crash, with a thunderstorm developing a couple of hours later, according to the National Weather Service. Investigators continue to examine all possible factors involved in the incident.