SAN ANTONIO – Texas DPS troopers say a family of four is dead after a single-engine plane crash just north of Bulverde.
The plane went down around 12:30 p.m. Saturday just off Highway 281 and Highway 46. The plane had taken off from Kestrel Airpark ten minutes before the crash.
The Piper PA-24 aircraft went down and slammed into the trees just outside the parking lot of Strutty's Feed and Pet store.
"I heard the boom and the whole store just rattled," said Strutty's employee Tyler McNeel.
McNeel was was working at the time but rushed to help as smoke and flames filled the sky.
"It was burning pretty well after I went out there, so I came back running to the store and grabbed this (fire extinguisher) off the shelf, and then handed one to another guy and was sitting there spraying the fire" McNeel said.
The Comal County Sheriff's Office identified the pilot as Michael Scott Galloway, 38, of Spring Branch. His wife Heather Louise Galloway, 32, and their children, Clayton T. Galloway, 10, and Cheyenne Elizabeth Galloway, 8, were also killed in the crash.
"As far as I understand, he had just got his license not too long ago. He loved it and was just taking them out to have a good time," said Addie Harrison, a Galloway family friend.
Giovanna Taliaferro was driving on 281 when she saw the plane in trouble.
"I saw the plane come right over the trees and it was going straight. And then all of a sudden, it just kind of turned a little and went nose down," Taliaferro said.
Troopers said the National Transportation Safety Board will be at the site Sunday morning to determine what caused the plane to crash.