DPS: 5 Victims in deadly Texas plane crash near Austin ID'd

The identities of the five people killed in a plane crash in Central Texas on Thursday, April 30, have been revealed. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) confirmed Saturday afternoon that pilot Justin Appling, along with passengers Hayden Dillard, Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala, and Stacy Hedrick, died in the small plane crash on Thursday night near Wimberley, Texas. The Amarillo Pickleball Club first shared the victims' names in a Facebook post on Friday, May 1, revealing five of their members were involved in a private airplane crash near Austin on the way to a pickleball tournament. "Please keep their precious families in your thoughts and prayers," the Amarillo Pickleball Club wrote in the social media post. On Thursday evening, the Hays County Sheriff's Office said they received a call about a loud boom and fire at 11:03 p.m., following reports of an aircraft down in the Wimberley area. Officers were dispatched to the 200 block of Round Rock Road in Wimberley at 11:05 p.m., and other law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services (EMS) arrived shortly after. According to initial information from authorities, the plane was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of impact. The plane was identified as a Cessna 421C, which is a multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft, and was confirmed to have crashed with five people on board. A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) spokesperson told MySA that the pilot and four passengers on board were pronounced deceased at the scene. Based on the authorities' current findings, there was no indication of a mid-air collision, and a second aircraft traveling in the vicinity landed safely in New Braunfels. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were notified and will be leading an investigation into the crash's cause.