Plane Carrying Pickleball Players to Texas Tournament Broke Apart Midair, Report Finds

Plane Carrying Pickleball Players to Texas Tournament Broke Apart Midair, Report Finds
A crashed Cessna airplane is seen in a wooded area on Round Rock Road in Wimberley, Texas, Friday, May 1, 2026. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP
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AUSTIN, Texas—The small plane that crashed while carrying four pickleball players to a tournament near Austin last month had problems with freezing instruments before it broke apart midair, according to a preliminary federal investigation report released Friday.

The Cessna 421C took off from Amarillo on April 30 at 9:10 p.m. and crashed at about 11 p.m. in Wimberley, a city about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Austin. Pilot Justin Appling and passengers Hayden Dillard, Brooke Skypala, Stacy Hedrick and Seren Wilson died.