An award-winning flight instructor and his wife died in a small plane crash in Texas earlier this week, according to officials and local reports.
A Beechcraft A36 crashed in Brownsboro at about 5:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Feb. 11, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The pilot declared an emergency shortly before the aircraft struck power lines and went down, the agency added.
Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said the two people on board did not survive, according to ABC affiliates KLTV and KVUE.
The Florida Aviation Network, an industry organization, identified the victims as Ron J. Timmermans and his wife, Barbara. A dog that was also on the plane survived.
Timmermans became a flight instructor in 1998, KVUE reported. He received the National Certified Flight Instructor of the Year honor in 2021 through an award program associated with the FAA. The Florida Aviation Network said he joined the organization in 2017 and had provided pro bono services since then.
“Ron was an important part of training hundreds of pilots over the years. He’s done hundreds of hours of interviews with people in the aviation industry,” a spokesperson for the Florida Aviation Network told KLTV, adding that he and his wife “will be greatly missed.”
A preliminary FAA investigation reportedly determined the plane declared an emergency due to oil on the windshield. KVUE reported that the aircraft is registered to AileRon T LLC, an Orlando, Florida-based company, citing FAA data.
The FAA is investigating the crash alongside the National Transportation Safety Board. An NTSB investigator is expected to arrive at the scene on Friday, Feb. 13, KVUE reported.
