Small plane crash at David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport leaves 2 dead, sparking brushfires

Two people were killed Sunday afternoon when a small plane crashed at David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport in Spring, sparking a fire and a large emergency response.

Officials said the aircraft, a 1972 Cessna 340 twin-engine plane with tail number N269WT, was taking off northbound when it experienced mechanical issues. The pilot attempted to circle back for a landing but came up short of the runway, crashing on airport grounds.

Both people onboard, described as seniors, died at the scene. Their identities have not yet been released.

Fire crews quickly responded to extinguish flames from the wreckage, and the scene remains under investigation. The FAA and NTSB are expected to take over the investigation into what caused the plane to go down.

The crash happened around 12:13 p.m. on the south end of the runway, in the 20800 block of Stuebner Airline Road. The impact sparked brushfires in the area, including near industrial buildings and a tree farm.

KPRC 2 spoke to former pilot and aviation expert Josh Verde about what may have caused the crash and more information about the aircraft involved.

“A Cessna 340 is a twin engine private aircraft that’s flown in general aviation. It can seat up to eight passengers. It only needs one pilot,” said Verde. “As long as they’re well maintained and kept up, they’re perfectly safe aircraft to fly. Very popular, fast, pressurized aircraft. But they are complicated. They’re not a beginner’s aircraft. So very often the pilots who fly them have many hours of flight experience."

Verde said this aircraft can reach cruising speeds of up to 230 miles per hour.

“Whenever you have a crash like this on a day where the weather is nearly perfect, like today, no storms, no clouds, good visibility, it’s usually safe to exclude weather as a factor. We usually want to, at that point, start considering things like mechanical failure," said Verde.

KPRC 2 showed Verde the video of the crash captured by HCSO’s air control operations.

“This plane is absolutely trying to make it back to the runway. But you see there, the left wing is dropped. It looks like it’s in a left turn," said Verde. “It looks more like a stall and crash type incident. Stalling just means that it’s not fast enough to fly that one of the wings drops and the pilot lost control. There’s the plane was certainly full of fuel because of the severity of the post-crash fire.”

Klein Fire Department said the downed plane was a Cessna 340 that became “fully involved” in flames after going down about a half-mile south of the airport.

Units from Klein Fire, Spring Fire Department, and Harris County Emergency Services District 16 responded to the scene, focusing on fire suppression, search and rescue, and securing hazards.

“Our deep thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragic incident,” Klein Fire said in a statement.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has been notified and will lead the investigation into what caused the crash.

Authorities are asking the public to avoid the area while crews continue emergency operations.

NTSB is investigating the crash.