Who are the victims of the Texas plane crash

Some of the men killed or injured in a Texas plane crash Tuesday were involved for years in Christian ministries in Memphis.

The one survivor of the crash, which killed four, has successfully gone through surgery, Harvest Church posted on Facebook Wednesday morning.

Kennon Vaughan, Harvest Church's lead pastor, was breathing on his own and able to communicate some through writing, the church said.

The Tuesday morning crash occurred outside Yoakum, Texas, and killed Bill Garner, executive pastor at Harvest Church, Steve Tucker, an elder at the church, and church staff members Tyler Patterson and Tyler Springer, according to the church.

The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the victims Wednesday, confirming the identities already released by Harvest Church.

The church is listed under a registry of Southern Baptist churches and was founded in 2013 by Vaughan.

Here’s what we know about the victims of the plane crash:

Kennon Vaughan

Vaughan, 45, is the founder of Downline Ministries in Memphis, which he established in 2006. The organization trains Christians in discipleship and has locations throughout Arkansas as well as in Memphis.

He was commissioned to plant Harvest Church in October 2013, according to an archived biography at the church’s website.

“It is such a privilege to pastor a church so loving, so authentic, and so deeply committed to God’s Word and the Great Commission, and I stand in awe at the work God is doing in and through Harvest to make disciples in our community and to the ends of the Earth,” he wrote in the biography.

Vaughan is married and is the father of five sons, according to his Facebook page.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Vaughan is a Memphis resident. He was initially taken to Citizens Medical Center in Victoria but was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

Bill Garner

Garner, 66, the church’s executive pastor who died in the crash, was married with seven children and nine grandchildren, according to a post by the church. He was a resident of Memphis, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

A Texas native, he spent most of his life in Memphis after attending Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary and receiving his Master of Divinity in 1986, according to an archived biography at Harvest Church's website. He worked at Central Church as a student ministries director, was one of the founding pastors of Grace Evangelical and served as executive pastor of Fellowship Memphis before joining Downline Ministries in 2011. Garner joined Harvest Church in 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“My hope for Harvest is to be part of the team that Disciples and Develops young leaders who will become difference makers and reproducers of reproducers in the generations to come,” he wrote.

Visitation for Garner will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, at Harvest Church followed by a memorial service at 1 p.m., according to the church. The family is asking that donations be sent to Harvest Church in lieu of flowers.

Steve Tucker

Tucker, 64, a church elder and pilot of the plane, was owner and president of the Yoakum-based Circle Y Saddles. According to his LinkedIn profile, he was a graduate of the University of Memphis. He was also certified as a commercial pilot, according to the FAA. It was unclear Wednesday how long he had been an elder at Harvest Church. He was a resident of Germantown, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“His legacy will live on through the family of brands he created by continuing to handcraft saddles and accessories for all types of riders and horse owners,” Circle Y Saddles posted on Facebook. “We ask for your support during these difficult times and prayers for our beloved founder's family.”

Tyler Patterson and Tyler Springer

Both Patterson and Springer were on staff at the church, according to a church representative, but the church hasn’t released details of their roles.

Patterson, 34, was a horse trainer and also owner of Bluff City Beef, according to his Facebook page. He was the plane's assistant pilot and a resident of Germantown, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Springer, 36, according to Facebook, had family in Texas. He was a resident of Memphis, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“We will miss him every day but know that he is waiting for us in Heaven and we will see him again,” Springer’s sister Lindsay Springer Rose posted on Facebook.

Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What we know about the victims of the Texas plane crash