Plane crash in Lakeway kills 6
Four adults and two children were on board small craft, authorities say
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Six people were killed Tuesday afternoon when a small plane crashed into a house in Lakeway. Residents were home at the time of the crash, but escaped uninjured. Photo gallery
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Six people were killed this afternoon when a small plane crashed into a house in the western Travis County community of Lakeway, authorities said.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange said four adults and two children were on board the twin-engine plane.
No one on the ground was injured.
It was unclear this afternoon whether the plane was attempting to take off or land when it crashed.
John Clabes, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the twin-engine TS60 Smith Aerostar was on final approach to Lakeway Airpark when it crashed around 12:04 p.m. He said the pilot had attempted a previous landing and was making a second approach when he apparently lost control.
Mange said the plane was headed to Oklahoma City and had stopped in Lakeway to refuel.
A spokesman for the Hudson Bend Fire Department said residents in the house on The Hills Drive, which is in the Village of the Hills subdivision, were inside at the time of the crash but escaped. Their home quickly became engulfed in flames.
Public records show the home, appraised in excess of $600,000, is owned by Laurence and Jacqueline Elliott. A family friend said Jacqueline Elliott was on the lower level of the large two-story home with a dishwasher repair worker and that her husband was upstairs.
Paul Clark, a 63-year-old retired pilot, said he was golfing at the Hills Country Club, which is in the airport's flight path, when he saw the plane flying at about 500 feet and apparently trying to gain altitude.
"It was wobbling when I saw it come over the trees," Clark said. "I knew he was in trouble at that point."
The plane took a sharp left turn, then its left wing dipped and it plunged straight down, striking the back of the house, Clark said. He said he and others converged on the house and saw the plane in pieces and the house engulfed in flames.
Lakeway resident Michael Abreo said he saw golfers scatter as the plane veered sharply.
"I could have shot a BB gun at it and hit it," he said. "I knew it was going to crash."
Witnesses said the crash happened near the 11th green and that the house backs up to the course. "It sounded like he didn't have any power," said course superintendent Jason Gaudreau, who was working on a water leak when the plane flew over at treetop level.
"He was really revving it. The engines were just sputtering," Gaudreau said.
Gaudreau said it looked as though the pilot was trying to land the plane on the golf course. The crippled plane barely cleared a beverage cart parked behind the 11th green and crashed into the base of the house, exploding immediately and scattering players on the 12th tee, Gaudreau said.
"And you couldn't see the house anymore. There's nothing left of the plane. There were so many people going up there, trying to help. There was nothing they could do."
Ellen Roberts, who lives nearby, said she heard a loud boom and sent her husband outside to see what caused it.
"When he went outside, neighbors said a plane hit the Elliotts' house," Roberts said. "The scene now is just one of mass rescue vehicles and tents being put up."
Roberts said the fire in the house — which she said looked like an "inferno" — appeared extinguished by 1:30 p.m. Emergency workers said the plane's cockpit lodged in the rear of the house and that pieces of it littered the yard.
Law enforcement officials have blocked off access to the neighborhood. The golf course has been closed and is being used to interview witnesses.
The Lakeway Airpark is a private airport operated and maintained by members through the sale of fuel and leasing of hangar space. Joe Bain, president of Lakeway Airpark Inc., said the crash was the first in the airport's more than 60-year history.
The airport does not have a tower; the nearest house is 150 feet from the end of the runway.
Check statesman.com for updates and read about the crash in tomorrow's print edition.
