3:45 PM Update – The pilot in this morning’s crash has been identified as 51-year-old Thomas Christopher Hall. The plane caught fire after impact, burning Hall on the face and along one arm.
Hall is in stable condition and is being treated for burns at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
Original Story – A plane crashed Tuesday morning at Brownwood Regional Airport just after 8 AM leaving the pilot injured but alive. The pilot, who has not been identified, was alert and talking but suffered severe burns to his arm and face.
Pete Michaud of Brownwood Flight Services was one of the first on the scene and stated that the small private aircraft was a red, white and blue V-tail Bonanza aircraft which was completely destroyed in the crash. Michaud said the pilot told him that the crash happened as he approached the runway and the engine went out and couldn’t be restarted. The plane then hit the ground and immediately burst into flames. The plane was about 1,000 feet short of the runway.
“The plane was a small plane trying to make a landing and had mechanical failure and did not make it to the runway,” said Brownwood Chief of Police Mike Corley. “There was one person in the airplane and he survived but he has severe burns, but he was talking.”
The pilot was transported by ambulance to Brownwood Regional Medical Center where he will be airlifted to a burn unit in Dallas.
Brownwood City Manager Bobby Rountree said that local law enforcement has secured the area of the crash and the Texas Department of Public Safety is working the initial investigation. Law enforcement is also waiting for FAA representatives to arrive to investigate.
Rountree said that the airport is still open at this time. Photos above and below show the crash site.
