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5 Victims Identified in Wimberley Plane Crash En Route to Pickleball Tournament
Authorities identified the five victims as members of an Amarillo pickleball club traveling to a Central Texas tournament when the plane crashed late Thursday.
Published May 2, 2026 at 9:20pm by Faith Bugenhagen
A crashed Cessna airplane is seen in a wooded area on Round Rock Road in Wimberley, Friday, May 1, 2026. Five adults onboard the plane died in the crash Thursday night, according to Hays County officials.
Five people killed in a plane crash near Wimberley on Thursday have been identified, as officials and loved ones begin to piece together what happened in the final moments of the flight.
The Texas Department of Public Safety on Saturday identified the victims as pilot Justin Appling and passengers Hayden Dillard, Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala and Stacy Hedrick.
The group were community members of the Amarillo Pickleball Club and had been traveling to a tournament in Central Texas, according to a Friday Facebook post from the organization.
"Today, the Club has received terrible news that we all must mourn in the loss of five members of our Amarillo pickleball family," the post read.
"Please keep their precious families in your thoughts and prayers," the message continued. "Although many were friends to players, the loss is most horrible to their close family."
Dan Dyer, the president of the Amarillo Pickleball Club, told the American-Statesman that the group was traveling to a pickleball tournament in the Austin area.
"They were all well-known pickleball players," Dyer said. "I knew four out of the five personally."
The club is primarily recreational, though some members compete in tournaments with cash prizes. Dyer said efforts are underway to support the victims’ families, including organizing meals and logistical assistance.
An official works at the scene where a Cessna airplane crashed in a wooded area on Round Rock Road in Wimberley, Friday, May 1, 2026. Five adults onboard the plane died in the crash Thursday night, according to Hays County officials.
What we know about the plane crash
The crash occurred late Thursday near the 200 block of Round Rock Road on the southwest side of Wimberley, according to Hays County officials.
The aircraft, a Cessna 421C, went down in a wooded area between about 11 and 11:30 p.m.
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said the plane was “traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of impact.”
Residents near the crash site described hearing the plane overhead moments before the crash.
One neighbor’s security camera captured what he described as a “fireball” around the time of the crash.
Another resident said she felt what seemed like an earthquake and initially thought her property was on fire.
No one on the ground was reported injured.
What we know about the plane's route
The plane was traveling from River Falls Airport, a private airfield near Amarillo, to New Braunfels National Airport, according to flight tracking data from FlightAware.
It took off about 9:11 p.m. and was scheduled to land around 11:19 p.m.
Tracking data shows the aircraft made a sharp turn near Ledgerock Road in Hays County before rapidly descending thousands of feet and losing signal.
Another plane that departed from the same airport around the same time completed the same route safely, though it is unclear whether the aircraft were traveling together.
A crashed Cessna airplane is seen in a wooded area on Round Rock Road in Wimberley, Friday, May 1, 2026. Five adults onboard the plane died in the crash Thursday night, according to Hays County officials.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are leading the investigation.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.