Texas Hill Country Plane Crash Kills Five Pickleball Players Near Wimberley

A small aircraft carrying pickleball players crashed in Texas Hill Country late Thursday night, killing five people onboard, according to multiple local reports.

“Pickleball players killed in Texas plane crash included a school tennis star, trauma counselor Pickleball players killed in Texas plane crash included a school tennis star, trauma counselor Five members of a pickleball club who died after the small plane carrying them crashed in Texas are being mourned by a tight-knit community of fellow players”

Associated Press

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the crash occurred at around 11 p.m. southwest of Austin, and that the aircraft was a Cessna 421C.

Associated Press

The Amarillo Pickleball Club confirmed the victims were members traveling to a tournament, and the plane had departed from Amarillo and was bound for New Braunfels National Airport (BAZ), according to flight records.

PennLive identified the five killed as Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala, Stecy Hedrick, Justin Appling and Hayden Dillard, saying the plane went down in a wooded area near Wimberley about 40 miles outside of Austin.

KEYE and WOAI also reported the crash site as Wimberley and described it as a heavily wooded area, with the Texas Department of Public Safety confirming the identities.

In addition to the deaths, officials said a second aircraft traveling to the tournament landed safely in New Braunfels, with the pilot saying, “I haven’t heard anything from him,” and an air traffic controller responding, “He started to move erratically, and now his track disappeared from the scope. So, we want to make sure everything’s all right with him.”

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said a post-impact fire destroyed the aircraft, and federal authorities were leading the investigation while the cause had not been determined.

The crash unfolded on a route from Amarillo to New Braunfels, with multiple outlets describing both the departure and the timing.

Travel Radar said the Cessna 421C departed from Amarillo and was bound for New Braunfels National Airport (BAZ), and it said the crash occurred “around 11 p.m.” southwest of Austin.

Chron

KEYE reported that the plane crashed in a heavily wooded area near Wimberley and that it was “200 feet from her home,” as Stacey Rohr described the moment she heard the impact.

KEYE also said the NTSB told investigators that a post-impact fire destroyed the aircraft, and it quoted Rohr saying, “It was so close it was like the back of my place was up in flames.”

Chron reported that emergency crews were dispatched around 11:05 p.m. after reports of a downed aircraft in the rural Hill Country area, and it said the aircraft was identified as a Cessna 421C carrying five people.

KVII added a more specific schedule, saying the Cessna 421 took off from River Falls Airport at 9:11 p.m. Thursday and was scheduled to land in New Braunfels at 11:19 p.m., while the crash happened around 11 p.m. in Wimberly about 40 miles southwest of Austin.

Across the accounts, investigators were still determining the cause, with KEYE saying early evidence indicates severe weather could have played a role and Fox News noting the cause had yet to be determined.

As authorities released names, outlets described the victims as members of the Amarillo Pickleball Club and as people known within the pickleball community.

“The names of the five people who were killed in the Central Texas plane crash that was taking a pickleball team to a tournament have been revealed”

Fox News

PennLive listed the five killed as Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala, Stecy Hedrick, Justin Appling and Hayden Dillard, and it said Appling was reportedly piloting the aircraft.

KEYE identified the pilot as Justin Glen Appling and the four passengers as Hayden Dillard, Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala, and Stacy Hedrick, saying the men and women were traveling from Amarillo to New Braunfels for a pickleball tournament.

WOAI similarly said the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed that Justin Appling, Hayden Dillard, Brooke Skypala, Stacy Hedrick and Seren Wilson were on board the Cessna 421C and that Appling was the pilot.

Fox News reported that Wilson was the youngest and that she was an accomplished tennis player, and it said in 2022 she was a University Interscholastic League team tennis state champion.

WOAI added personal details from teammates, saying Dillard and Appling were owners of a manufactured home dealer in Amarillo and that Dillard and Appling had played mixed doubles for a long time together.

In the same community-focused coverage, Martin Robertson, head pro at Cranky Pickle, said, “It was just not the kind of news I wanted to hear this morning,” and he added, “They don’t train you for something like this. I didn’t even know what to do. My heart goes out to them.”

While all the reports centered on the same crash, they emphasized different details and used different framing around what happened and what it meant for the tournament.

Travel Radar described the crash as involving “pickleball players” and said the plane was “completely torn up in a wooden area,” citing aerial photographs published online by the Austin American-Statesman.

KEYE

PennLive focused on the identities and said officials reported the plane was traveling at a “high rate of speed,” when it went down around 11 p.m., and it also included the second plane’s safe landing and the air traffic controller audio.

KEYE leaned heavily on the local witness account, quoting Stacey Rohr saying, “I heard this loud crash and then the forest out here just lit up in flames,” and it added that the NTSB said a post-impact fire destroyed the aircraft.

WOAI framed the story through mourning and personal histories, describing Dillard and Appling as owners of a manufactured home dealer in Amarillo and quoting Sarah Lister about Dillard and Appling being “genuine people.”

Fox News combined community tributes with investigative context, stating that “The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigators are on scene” while also quoting the air traffic controller response about the track disappearing.

NewsNation framed the immediate sports impact by reporting that organizers canceled the first day of competition and that tournament play was expected to resume Saturday and Sunday, while The Independent quoted Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra: “Based on current findings, there is no indication of a mid-air collision.”

The crash has triggered an ongoing federal investigation and immediate changes to tournament plans, with multiple outlets describing what authorities and organizers are doing next.

“5 victims killed in Wimberley plane crash identified HAYS COUNTY, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is confirming the identity of the five people killed Thursday night in the Wimberley plane crash”

KEYE

Fox News said the NTSB and FAA investigators were on scene and serving as lead investigative agencies, while also stating that “the cause of the crash has yet to be determined.”

KVII

KEYE said the NTSB is leading the investigation and that the cause had not been determined, but it added that early evidence indicates severe weather could have played a role.

The Independent reported that the NTSB is leading the investigation with assistance from the FAA and quoted an NTSB spokesperson saying, “After the wreckage is documented at the crash location, it will be moved to a secure facility for further evaluation,” and it also said an NTSB investigator arrived at the accident site Friday.

On the sports side, NewsNation reported that organizers at Cranky Pickle canceled the first day of competition and said tournament play is expected to resume Saturday and Sunday, while Martin Robertson said, “We’re going to find a way to honor the victims,” and “We’ll move forward the best we can, but it’s a hard situation.”

WOAI said the Cranky Pickle tournament canceled Friday’s events and quoted Martin Robertson saying, “We’re very heavy-hearted, heartbroken from this,” and “Everybody knows everybody.”

KEYE reported that the Amarillo Pickleball Club was arranging funerals for three of the victims this Friday and that it was “really getting together a lot of volunteers who are willing to help with the families, the funerals and the memorials,” according to Dan Dyer.