Two Men Dead After Denton Co. Plane Crash
Updated at 10:12 p.m: CBS 11 News has revised the following statement from the wife of Christopher Pratt regarding the death of her husband in today's crash.
"It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to a wonderful husband, father and friend. Chris had a passion for life, and loved to fly and spend time with his family. We love him and will miss him every day."
Updated at 7:53 p.m. CBS 11 News has confirmed the passenger who was transported to the hospital has died. He has been identified as Charles Yates. The pilot identified as 41-year-old Christopher Pratt of Argyle died before paramedics arrived at the scene.
ROANOKE (CBSDFW.COM) - One man is dead another was critically injured in a plane crash just south of the Northwest Regional Airport near Roanoke in Denton County.
The crash happened just after 1 p.m. as a single engine four passenger Piper Cherokee PA-28R-180 was taking off.
Witnesses heard a strange noise from coming the plane as it took off and went outside to see what was going on.
"You could see he wasn't climbing very well," said Glenn Harrington, Director of Operations for Marcair Aviation. "It was starting to clear the trees and the end, made a bit of a left turn and pancaked down into the trees."
The crash site is about a half mile from the end of the runaway.
CBS 11 News' Doug Dunbar, who is also a pilot, was at the airport shooting another story.
Harrington told Dunbar and two others a plane went down at the end of the runaway and the four jumped into a vehicle and rushed to the scene.
"We saw the airplane. It was in the trees canted to the right side, wings were gone. We couldn't see wings anywhere," Dunbar said. "A friend of mine was in that airplane."
The pilot was unconscious when they arrived on the scene. The passenger, a flight instructor, was conscious and talking.
Paramedics arrived a short time later and a PHI medical helicopter transported the passenger to John Peter Smith Hospital in critical condition.
The FAA was on the scene investigating. NTSB is taking over the investigation.
