Plane crash in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas - A small plane crashed into a house near Austin and burst into flames Tuesday, killing at least six people, the Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) said.


All six were aboard the plane, and no one was believed to be hurt inside the home, FAA (news - web sites) spokesman John Clabes said.

Smoke could been seen pouring from the side of the luxury, two-story house, which backs into a golf course in Lakeway. A gaping hole could be seen in the tiled roof of the house, near Lakeway Airpark.

"We believe the aircraft was landing," Clabes said. "We don't know what kind of aircraft it was or where it was coming from or going to."

The identities of those killed aboard plane were not immediately known, Clabes said.

Todd Moore, who lives about 600 yards from the house, was golfing when the plane crashed. He said he ran over after seeing a plume of smoke to see if the retired couple who lived there was OK. He declined to name the couple.

"Everything was on fire at that point," Moore said. "There was nothing but smoke and fire."

Tela Mange, a spokeswoman with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said nobody was at home at the time of the crash.

Moore said neighbors told him the man who lived in the house saw the plane approaching as he stood on an upper patio, and he ran to his wife in the kitchen, grabbed her and ran out.

The twin-engine plane first hit a 3- to 4-foot retaining wall that separated the house and surrounding property from the golf course, Moore said. Part of the plane kept going until it hit the house and exploded, setting the house on fire, he said.

Lakeway Airpark, Inc. was created by residents of the Austin suburb and is privately owned.

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