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A Cessna 421C Golden Eagle II (N291AN) crashed 10 km northwest of Wimberly, Texas on Thursday night.
The aircraft was flying from River Falls Airport (H81) to New Braunfels National Airport (BAZ) and was cruising at 17,400 ft. It entered an area with reported overcast ceilings, as well as distant lightning and rain. At around 10:47 p.m., it entered a descent. At 10:59 p.m., while descending through 14,000 ft, it shifted right and started descending faster at an average rate of 5000 feet per minute, according to ASN. It appeared to enter a climb at around 11 p.m., but entered another descending right-hand turn that it did not recover from. ASN states it descended at a rate of 11,000 feet per minute in the final seconds of the flight. The aircraft crashed into a wooded area at around 11:03 p.m. The pilot and all four passengers died in the crash.
The pilot has been identified as Justin Appling and the passengers as Hayden Dillard, Brooke Skypala, Stacy Hedrick and Seren Wilson, according to KVUE. All five were members of the Amarillo Pickleball Club and were on their way to a tournament in New Braunfels.
"Although many were friends to players, the loss is most horrible to their close family," said the club in a statement on Facebook.
Another pilot in the area confirmed the Cessna had sent a distress signal, according to KVUE, but it is currently unknown what caused the crash.
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