Authorities told FOX Business on Sunday that an award-winning pilot and his wife died in a tragic plane crash last week after declaring an emergency landing “due to oil on the windshield.”
Local media outlet KLTV reported that the couple’s dog was also on board and miraculously survived the devastating crash.
The incident occurred in East Texas last Wednesday around 5:30 p.m., when a Beechcraft A36 struck power lines while diverting to Brownsboro, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. Authorities added that the small plane went down short of the runway in Murchison, according to KLTV.
The Florida Aviation Network identified the victims as Ron and Barbara Timmermans, owners of the Orlando-based aviation company AileRon T LLC.
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The Bonanza & Baron Pilot Training website notes that Ron was inspired by his wife, Barbara, to become a flight instructor, and the couple flew to many destinations across the U.S., Canada, and the Bahamas.
Photos of the crash scene showed the Timmermans’ plane lying nose-down in the ground with its tail jutting dramatically into the sky.
While the couple died in the incident, their small lapdog miraculously survived and was taken in by local residents at the crash site, KLTV reported.
“The dog was alive, and so one of the neighbors took the dog to take care of,” resident Mary Ann Shoulders said.
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Ron was reportedly a veteran flight instructor and had provided pro bono services to the Florida Aviation Network since 2017.
The network described Ron as an integral figure in the flight community. He was named National Certified Flight Instructor of the Year in 2021 by an awards program associated with the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Ron was an important part of training hundreds of pilots over the years,” the organization told KLTV. “He’s done hundreds of hours of interviews with people in the aviation industry. He’s the main host of our interviews online. He was the National Flight Instructor of the Year in 2021. He and Barbara will be greatly missed.”
The NTSB said the crash is under investigation and that officials retrieved devices from the plane that could contain data about the accident.
The wreckage was also recovered to a secure facility for further examination.
FOX Business reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration for more information.
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