Overview
- A Cessna 680A carrying six people crashed onto Loop 20 near Laredo late Tuesday night, striking a vehicle and catching fire as bystanders and first responders pulled survivors from the wreckage.
- Capital Factory confirmed that its founder and CEO Joshua Baer was the sole fatality and that five other people on board were evacuated, with Baer’s family saying his son Noah, who was aboard, is OK.
- Local officials say pilots radioed about low fuel and a power-related issue and requested an emergency landing at Laredo before communications were lost and the jet descended onto the highway.
- The FAA and NTSB opened an investigation, NTSB teams have begun examining wreckage and will retrieve the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, and a preliminary report is expected in the coming weeks.
- Baer, 50, built Capital Factory into a major Texas startup hub and mentor network, and the organization says it remains fully operational as the tech community mourns his loss.