Overview
- The Texas Department of Public Safety on Saturday identified the victims as pilot Justin Appling and passengers Hayden Dillard, Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala, and Stacy Hedrick.
- The twin‑engine Cessna 421C went down around 11 p.m. Thursday in a wooded area near the 200 block of Round Rock Road outside Wimberley, and a post‑impact fire destroyed the aircraft.
- Flight data show the plane departed Amarillo for New Braunfels as five members of the Amarillo Pickleball Club traveled to a tournament that organizers later canceled out of respect.
- Preliminary accounts cite a high rate of speed at impact, erratic movement before radar loss, and an emergency locator distress signal, while a second plane on the same route landed safely.
- The NTSB is documenting the wreckage, analyzing ADS‑B and ATC recordings, and reviewing weather that featured low clouds, rain, and distant lightning, with a preliminary report expected in weeks and a final cause possibly taking up to two years.