BRAZOS COUNTY – Five family members, including two children, were killed Monday night when their single-engine aircraft crashed in Brazos County, according to authorities.
Authorities said the family was traveling in a small, six-seater Piper plane from Atlanta, Georgia, made a stop in Jackson, Mississippi and was heading to Waco, Texas when it ran into a patch of bad weather around 10 p.m.
DPS officials said the pilot contacted the tower in Fort Worth and was instructed on how to avoid the rough weather, but the plane flew in the opposite direction.
Debris scattered for more than a mile suggests the plane started breaking apart in mid-air before it tumbled to the ground.
"It looks like to me that parts of the plane was coming off as the plane was heading to the southwest here," said Jimmy Morgan, Texas Department of Public Safety.
The plane went down in a rural field, just northeast of Bryan, College Station. The crash site was right behind the McBride home and pieces of the wreckage are scattered across their backyard.
"It actually just sounded like they were having engine problems to me," said Debbie McBride.
"She thought something had hit this barn or was maybe ripping the tin off the barn, it was probably that wing when it hit that tree out there," said Douglas McBride.
But one piece of the wreckage was considerably disturbing: a car seat which held the youngest victim of the crash.
"It’s devastating. Yeah," said Debbie McBride. "Especially little ones… and it’s Christmas."
The victims are identified as David Shane Butler, of Mount Calm, Texas; his brother, Michael D. Butler; Michael’s wife, Kelly Butler; and their two children, Brook, 15, and Braylon, 2, all of Stockbridge, Ga.
They were making the holiday trip from their home near Atlanta.
Ernest Contreras of the Texas Department of Public Safety says they are investigating to determine if weather was the key factor in the crash.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
