Earlier today, emergency responders from the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, LifeCare Ambulance, and local fire departments rushed to the scene of a downed airplane in the Poolville area. The aircraft, believed to be a twin-engine Cessna, had reportedly been schedule to land at a Wise County airport.
The incident, which occurred around 1:15 p.m. near Lone Star Road and BJ Lane, resulted in the loss of all three individuals on board, including the pilot. One of the victims, identified as Heath Smith, a Paradise, Texas resident and the school board’s Place 3 member, was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the crashed Cessna 310R, with tail number N252DL, was piloted by Smith and registered to Plac Holdings LLC in Paradise. The plane had taken off from Dimmit County Airport in South Texas at 10:58 a.m. and was scheduled to land at Bridgeport Municipal Airport shortly after noon on Sunday.
Tragically, two children, aged six and eight, also lost their lives in the crash. The relationship between the children and the pilot is currently unknown. The bodies of the victims were transported to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office for further examination.
Heath Smith, a general and bariatric surgeon at Wise Health System’s My Bariatric Solutions in Fort Worth, graduated from the Texas A&M University Medical School in 2009. He completed his residency at Virginia Tech University’s Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Virginia.
As the investigation unfolds, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is en route to take over the investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is actively handling the crash inquiry.