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Plane carrying pickleball players to Texas tournament broke apart midair, report finds
The pilot reported an iced airspeed indicator and anti-icing problems before the Cessna broke apart, investigators said.
- On Friday, the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report revealing that a Cessna 421C crash near Wimberley, Texas, last month killed five pickleball players after freezing instruments caused an inflight breakup.
- Pilot Justin Appling reported that his pitot heat system was inoperable while en route to New Braunfels, and his airspeed instrument had "iced up" despite using backup gauges to fly the aircraft.
- Seeking to descend to 4,000 feet to "warm back up," Appling performed erratic maneuvers including a near 180-degree turn before the plane broke apart midair over a 1.25-mile debris field.
- Investigators found debris scattered over a 2-kilometer area, distribution consistent with an "inflight breakup," though the NTSB emphasized this remains a preliminary investigation with the full inquiry ongoing.
- The tragedy claimed the lives of Pilot Justin Appling, Hayden Dillard, Brooke Skypala, Stacy Hedrick, and Seren Wilson, who were traveling from Amarillo to compete in a pickleball tournament.
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Associated Press News+18 Reposted by 18 other sources
Plane carrying pickleball players to Texas tournament broke apart midair, report finds
A preliminary federal investigation report has found that the small plane that crashed while carrying five people to a pickleball tournament near Austin, Texas, last month broke apart midair.
·United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources21
Leaning Left9Leaning Right1Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 45%
C 50%
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