Pilot dead after single-engine plane crashes near Hicks Airfield in Fort Worth – Dallas News

Pilot dead after single-engine plane crashes near Hicks Airfield in Fort Worth  Dallas News

A small plane crashed Wednesday morning near a community airstrip in Fort Worth, killing its pilot and sending the single-engine aircraft up in flames. Emergency crews responded shortly before 10 a.m. to the scene near Hicks Airfield on Aviator Drive to find a low-wing Lancair IV-P on fire. The pilot, who has not been publicly identified, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Fort Worth Police Officer Daniel Segura. The pilot was the plane's sole occupant. Video filmed by a witness near the scene showed the aircraft in flames and emitting a large column of smoke in a patch of grass near a road. The crash also sparked a grassfire that crews later extinguished, Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Craig Trojacek said.

No evacuations or injuries were reported on the ground, Trojacek added. After the flames from the crash were completely extinguished early Wednesday afternoon, responders walked gingerly around the charred remains of the plane, roped off by a security perimeter. Nearby, more than a dozen officers were redirecting traffic at West Bonds Ranch Road and Willow Springs Road, keeping cars out of the area. The cause of the crash remains unclear. Federal Aviation Administration officials were on the scene and the National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed it will conduct its own investigation. Related: Airfield near fatal Fort