Plane carrying pickleball players crashes in Texas Hill Country, killing
all 5 on board
[May 02, 2026]
By JIM VERTUNO and ED WHITE
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A small plane carrying pickleball players crashed
among trees in Texas Hill Country, killing all five people aboard,
authorities said Friday.
The crash happened around 11 p.m. Thursday in Wimberley, a city about 40
miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Austin, the Texas Department of
Public Safety said.
“The pilot and four passengers on board were pronounced deceased on
scene,” Sgt. Billy Ray told reporters.
Names of the victims were not immediately released by authorities,
though the Amarillo Pickleball Club in Amarillo, Texas, said they were
members who were flying to a tournament.
An unidentified woman wiped her eyes and fanned her face with her hands
as she stood behind yellow police tape near the crash site Friday
afternoon. A man consoled her.
The plane, a Cessna 421C, took off from Amarillo 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.
Ray said federal authorities were leading the investigation.
Stacey Rohr, who lives nearby, said she was in bed when she heard a
crash and “felt everything vibrate.”
“It was so close I felt like it was the back of my place up in flames,"
said Rohr, who immediately called her landlord.
The players were heading to a pickleball tournament at the Cranky Pickle
in New Braunfels, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of San
Antonio, said Martin Robertson, head pro at the venue.
He said they canceled the tournament Friday and plan to say a prayer
before they start Saturday and honor the players who died.
“We’re very heavy hearted, heartbroken from this," he said. "The
pickleball community is very tight knit. Everybody knows everybody.”
Dan Dyer, president of the Amarillo Pickleball Club, said he’d played
many games with four of the five people who were killed.
[to top of second column]
|
A crashed Cessna airplane is seen in a wooded area on Round Rock
Road in Wimberley, Texas, Friday, May 1, 2026. (Jay Janner/Austin
American-Statesman via AP)
“I’ve handed them medals. They were excellent players. They were out
to win some games," Dyer said. “Every weekend there are dozens of
tournaments. Some people get the bug; others don’t. But once they
do, they’ll travel for a tournament.”
Dyer said a second plane was traveling to the event from Amarillo at
the same time. Authorities said it landed safely at the airport in
New Braunfels.
“I haven't heard anything from him,” the pilot of the second plane
said, according to Air Traffic Control audio.
A controller responded: "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.
It was mostly cloudy in the New Braunfels area shortly before the
crash and there was a thunderstorm two hours later, the National
Weather Service said.
Wimberley, with a population of about 3,000, and New Braunfels, with
a population of about 116,000, are tourist destinations in the Texas
Hill Country.
___
White reported from Detroit. AP reporters Kathy McCormack in
Concord, New Hampshire, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to
this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
