Source: http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/hill_country/plane-crash-kills-one-in-burnet-jh
Plane crash kills one in Burnet
Pilot told of engine trouble shortly before crash
Updated: Sunday, 15 Nov 2009, 9:49 PM CST
* Josh Hinkle
Burnet (KXAN) -- The pilot who died in a Saturday plane crash has been identified as 81-year-old Louis Marvin Harris.
Harris told air traffic controllers he was having engine trouble shortly before his plane went down.
The crash happened around noon in the Burnet city limits. Burnet Police Chief Paul Nelson said the plane went down south of a golf course which is located south of the Burnet airport, just off of Highway 281.
Nearby resident Mitch Brown said he saw a hearse leaving the scene while he was stuck in traffic during the aftermath of the incident.
``Traffic was stopped, so we thought there was a wreck,'' Brown said. ``As we got closer, we could see there was a plane off to the side and all the people who were working, so we knew it was probably a fatality.''
Brown was on his way home to the subdivision closest to the crash about a half mile from the airport.
``Anytime you see a plane down,'' he said, ``we've seen it once before when we were in Georgetown once at the airshow. There's a plane that hit a house, so it was pretty scary.''
Not far from Brown's home and mere feet from power lines and the heavily travelled highway, the plane stopped before hurting anyone else.
``To see that happen today to somebody that may have been local or regardless,'' Brown said, ``it's very sad.''
The plane is a small, one-seat experimental aircraft called a Sonex. It was based out of the Spicewood airport in southern Burnet County.
Department of Public Safety Trooper Shannon Simpson said that the plane took off from Kingsland and was scheduled to fly to Spicewood, where Harris lived.
An air traffic controller at the airport said that Harris radioed in shortly before noon, reporting engine trouble. He asked to land at the Burnet airport, then sent out an emergency mayday a minute later.
That was the last communication from Harris.
Simpson said that a medical helicopter was flying in the area around the time of the crash. The helicopter landed, and the medical team on board rushed to the scene. According to Simpson, the medical team said the pilot was still alive when they arrived. Despite their efforts, he died soon after.
Simpson said Harris was a military veteran, who had nearly 50 years of flying experience.
Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration were on the scene Saturday evening.
Published : Saturday, 14 Nov 2009, 1:17 PM CST
* John L. Thomas