Dave McDermand | Associated Press via The Bryan-College Station Eagle
By The Associated Press
BRYAN — A single-engine plane crashed in central Texas, killing five people aboard including two children, and the victims were likely related, officials said Tuesday.
The Piper Saratoga aircraft crashed just before 10 p.m. Monday in a farming and ranching community in northeast Brazos County, said Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The flight originated in Atlanta, stopped in Jackson, Miss., and was headed for Waco, Texas, when it crashed in a field north of Bryan and College Station. A resident called 911 to report the crash.
The plane had not yet begun its descent into Waco, and storms with rain and lightning were moving through the area when the crash occurred. Vinger said it was not clear if the weather played any role and that authorities had yet to determine the cause of the crash.
Parts of northwest Texas have received heavy snow, though the crash occurred hundreds of miles south and east of the areas of the state that suffered the most severe weather.
Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration were at the crash scene Tuesday and flew over the area in a helicopter, following a similar flight plan to the aircraft that crashed.
“From there, you can see a whole lot more than you can see from down here,” said Department of Public Safety Cpl. Jimmy Morgan, who was also at the scene. “Maybe you can see something we don’t.”
Vinger and Morgan said the people aboard the aircraft were believed to be related but that their names and ages have not been released pending additional confirmation and notification of relatives. They said authorities were also not yet ready to confirm hometowns for all victims, though at least some were from Georgia.
No information was available on why they were headed to Waco.
