Five Pickleball Players Killed In Horrific Plane Crash On Way To Tournament Identified

The 5 pickleball players killed successful a horrific level crash en way to a tourney have now been identified, arsenic their nine shared a moving tribute to nan athletes.

The mini Cessna level crashed successful a wooded area Thursday adjacent nan mini municipality of Wimberley, extracurricular of Austin, Texas, and was walking astatine a “high complaint of speed” erstwhile it went down, section officials said.

Amarillo Pickleball Club identified nan victims, whose reported ages ranged from teens to mid-40s, arsenic Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala, Stacy Hedrick, Glen Appling, and Hayden Dillard.

The nine described them arsenic “five members of our Amarillo pickleball family.”

“All 5 were killed past nighttime successful a backstage airplane clang adjacent Austin, TX, while en way to a pickleball tournament. Although galore were friends to players, nan nonaccomplishment is astir horrible to their adjacent family,” nan statement said Friday.

Tascosa High School’s tennis squad besides shared a tribute to Wilson, who was an alum.

“Seren was truthful overmuch much than an alumni and 2022 UIL Team Tennis State Champion, she was a changeless protagonist of Sandie Tennis and personification who poured truthful overmuch into this programme and nan players. Seren loved large and her presence, encouragement, and tone will beryllium profoundly missed by truthful many,” nan squad wrote on Facebook Friday.

Amarillo Pickleball Club President Dan Dyer told nan Associated Press he had played respective games pinch 4 of nan victims.

“I’ve handed them medals. They were fantabulous players. They were retired to triumph immoderate games,” he said. “Every play location are dozens of tournaments. Some group get nan bug; others don’t. But erstwhile they do, they’ll recreation for a tournament.”

The group departed Amarillo, Texas, successful nan Cessna 421C level en way to New Braunfels National Airport, according to records reviewed by nan AP.

“Based connected existent findings, location is nary denotation of a mid-air collision. A 2nd craft walking successful nan vicinity landed safely successful New Braunfels,” Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said.

The level besides caught occurrence astatine 1 point, which “would bespeak immoderate beautiful terrible damage,” a spokesperson for nan Texas Department of Public Safety told reporters Friday.

The National Transportation Safety Board is starring nan investigation into nan clang pinch assistance from nan FAA.

“An NTSB interrogator arrived astatine nan mishap tract Friday. After nan wreckage is documented astatine nan clang location, it will beryllium moved to a unafraid installation for further evaluation,” an NTSB spokesperson told The Independent.