A small plane from a Denton aviation school crashed into a residential yard just north of the Gainesville Municipal Airport, resulting in one fatality and another individual hospitalized.
Mike Sykes, CEO of U.S. Aviation Academy, confirmed the crash early Wednesday, stating that the family of the victims had been notified. The academy, where the flight originated, is based at Denton Enterprise Airport.
The Cessna Skyhawk, involved in the incident, took off from Denton at approximately 7:48 p.m., with an expected arrival time at Gainesville Municipal Airport around 8:44 p.m., data from FlightAware shows. However, disaster struck shortly after, with the crash being reported at about 8:58 p.m. on County Road 404.
Emergency responders, upon arrival, faced the grim task of extricating two individuals from the wreckage, as reported in a dispatch broadcast. The aircraft, according to the Federal Aviation Administration registry, is owned by Wings Over Texas Holdings LLC.
As of early Wednesday, the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office, which also serves Cooke County, had yet to release the identity of the deceased. The community and aviation industry are awaiting further details as investigations continue into the cause of the crash.