SAN ANTONIO – The Federal Aviation Administration is wrapping up an initial investigation after one person was killed Wednesday afternoon when the person's plane crashed into a wooded area near Stinson Municipal Airport.
San Antonio Fire Department Battalion Chief Russell Johnson said witnesses reported seeing the plane crash “with one wing up, one wing down.”
"From what we're looking at, there's only one person on the plane. I think it's a body recovery," an emergency responder said to an operator as crews assessed the damage.
Johnson said the plane’s wing clipped a tree before crashing.
"The wreckage is bad. It came down. (It) looked like you could see the tree line where he went through. One wing, the wing, cut through the trees," Johnson said.
The initial call for a plane down came in around 3:45 p.m. The plane -- a Cirrus SR22 4 -- crashed approximately a half-mile from the San Antonio River. Crews initially had trouble finding the wreckage due to the thick brush in the area.
The pilot was the only person on the plane and he died on contact, Johnson said.
Johnson said there are no known mayday calls to the tower before the crash.
Sky 12 video showed the aircraft broken into pieces. Johnson confirmed the plane was flying from San Antonio International Airport to Stinson Municipal Airport.
San Antonio International Airport issued the following statement:
A small, private aircraft departed the San Antonio International Airport this afternoon heading toward Stinson Municipal Airport. The aircraft went down 600-yards south of Stinson. The San Antonio Fire Department responded immediately and is on scene. Operations have not been affected at either airport.
Nearly two-dozen units from SAFD responded to the scene. SAFD said records submitted to the FAA showed the plane was registered out of California.
The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to arrive at the crash site Thursday morning to continue investigating.