The fiery Texas plane crash that killed five people on their way to a pickleball tournament late last month was caused by issues with its anti-icing system, an investigation has revealed.
The small aircraft carrying the Amarillo Pickleball Club members shattered mid-air before plunging into a wooded area in Wimberley, about 40 miles southwest of Austin, according to a preliminary report the National Transportation Safety Board released Friday.
Officials said that the plane carrying Seren Wilson, 19; Brooke Skypala, 45; Stacy Hedrick, 51; Justin “Glen” Appling, 37; and Hayden Dillard, 39, took off from Amarillo at 9:10 p.m and went down roughly two hours later.
Appling, who was piloting the Cessna 421C, reported problems with the anti-icing system — which prevents the plane’s critical instruments from freezing — during the flight.
He warned the instrument that monitors airspeed had “iced up” and he was using backup gauges, per the report.
Air traffic controllers then reportedly cleared Appling to descend 4,000 feet. He told them he wanted to get to a lower altitude to try to “warm back up.”
Over the course of the final 15 minutes before the 11 p.m. crash, the plane was flying in altitudes where the temperature was slightly below zero.
The pilot’s last radio transmission was at 10:59 p.m. — before the catastrophic malfunction caused the private plane to plummet to the ground.
Investigators analyzing the tragic aftermath found the plane’s debris scattered across 1.25 miles, which they say points to an “inflight breakup.”
It was mostly cloudy in the area just before the crash, and there was a thunderstorm two hours later, according to the National Weather Service.
A second plane, traveling alongside with doomed Cessna to the tournament, arrived safely at New Braunfels National Airport.
Amarillo Pickleball Club, which announced the deaths of its five members the morning after the crash, launched a memorial fund for the victims.
The fundraiser was created to support the grieving families. It is unclear how much money has been raised.
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