FAA Seeks Public’s Help Investigating Yesterday’s Plane Crash in Canyon Lake

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is asking anyone who witnessed yesterday’s plane crash in Canyon Lake to contact Air Worthiness Inspector Brian Fricker, who is based out of the agency’s San Antonio Flight Standards District Office.

Fricker can be reached at 830-556-2008.

He said he is collecting information from eyewitnesses who may be able to answer questions about sounds the engine made — whether it was running or sputtering — as well as the plane’s movement while it was still airborne.

The aircraft is a Cessna 210, which has since settled on the bottom of Canyon Lake near the 100 block of Canteen in the Westhaven Subdivision on the south side of the lake. Fricker said recovery efforts will be coordinated through the aircraft owner’s insurance company. The Cessna 210 is a six-seat, single-engine plane.

The pilot and his passenger took off from Midland International Air & Space Port Tuesday morning and were flying under visual flight rules to New Braunfels Regional Airport when they encountered low clouds near Canyon Dam and contacted the control tower at San Antonio International Airport for instructions on making an instrument approach into New Braunfels, Fricker said.

Air controllers lost contact with the pilot. Fricker said he does not know if controllers had time to respond.

Westhaven residents received an email from their homeowners association this morning asking for help with the investigation.

“Any and all information is crucial,” it said. “If you don’t want to mention your name you can remain anonymous.”

According to the email, the two men in the plane have both been released from the hospital — one with a few stitches and one with a concussion.

Fricker said he could not confirm other details in that email, which said the pilot became confused in the fog, and that either the pilot or his passenger was on the phone with San Antonio air controllers when the accident occurred.

The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) is now in charge of the investigation.

Westhaven resident Skip Smith said yesterday that those who witnessed the crash said the plane appeared to be flying low over FM 2673 before it lost power, turned and crashed into the lake. A neighbor helped two passengers — believed to be men — out of the water and up to the ambulance, which had difficulty accessing the area.

Click HERE to read that story.

Drone photo by Dawn Dillenbeck