Cirrus Aircraft employee dies in Texas crash after plane took off from Knoxville
A Cirrus Aircraft employee died Thursday night in a plane crash near Spring, Texas, a company spokesperson confirmed.
The Cirrus SR-22 took off from McGhee Tyson Airport with three people and crashed on the way to David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport at around 5 p.m. local time, according to officials with the Federal Aviation Administration.
"We are deeply saddened," Cirrus spokeswoman Nadia Haidar said in a prepared statement. "Our immediate thoughts and prayers are with our team member’s family, the aircraft occupants and all those affected."
Haidar declined to comment further, citing the investigation and respect for the families involved.
As the plane was trying to land, it lost power and hit a tree, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
An official from the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed the plane crashed on its approach to the airport and said it was sending an investigator. According to the spokesperson, a preliminary report will likely be completed in about three weeks but the full investigation report, including the cause of the crash, can take up to a year.
Two other people were on board and were transported to a local hospital. No further information was available as of Friday afternoon.
Cirrus, a Minnesota-based company, recently underwent a major expansion to its Knoxville campus, adding three 12,000-square-foot airplane hangars to its facility next to McGhee Tyson Airport.
Liz Kellar: Covering public safety in East Tennessee
Phone: 865-342-6872 | Email: lkellar@knoxnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Cirrus Aircraft employee dies in Texas plane crash
