Weather may have been factor in plane crash that killed North Texas doctor, 2 sons: report
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board indicates weather may have been a factor in the Jan. 14 small plane crash that killed a North Texas school board member and surgeon along with two of his sons.
Heath Smith, 40, and his sons, Noah, 6, and Wyatt, 8, were on their way back to Wise County from a hunting trip when their twin-engine Cessna went down in a wooded area about 13 miles southwest of the Bridgeport Municipal Airport. Smith’s wife, Andrea, and their oldest son, Colin, 11, were not on the plane.
The Smiths’ plane took off from Carrizo Springs in Dimmit County near the Texas-Mexico border shortly before 11 a.m. Smith was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan and had obtained an electronic weather briefing that morning, the NTSB report said.
The weather briefing included information about moderate icing between Carrizo Springs and Bridgeport and light rime ice between 4,000 and 6,000 feet in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to the report.
The plane was descending from an altitude of 7,000 feet when the crash occurred. Smith was flying in instrumental meteorological conditions, the report said, meaning he was being guided by his instruments because weather conditions may not have been clear enough to see the terrain.
The plane went down in a wooded area. Investigators found evidence of two propeller strikes in a field about half a mile away from where the plane’s wreckage was scattered.
Today's top stories:
→ Brutal murder with ice pick still haunts Arlington 50 years later
→ Atmos Energy lawsuit says caller at hotel reported gas leak 11 minutes before explosion
→ Lockheed Martin to lay off 200 employees at Fort Worth plant
🚨Get free alerts when news breaks.
The NTSB is continuing to investigate the crash.
Landon Smith, Heath Smith’s older brother, told the Star-Telegram that the family believes weather conditions, including ice and freezing temperatures, may have contributed to the accident.
An Arctic cold front, bringing frigid temperatures, arrived in North Texas the day before the crash.
Landon Smith said his brother “touched countless lives,” and the family was taking the grieving process one day at a time.
