COMAL COUNTY, Texas – The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a plane crash in Comal County that killed a family of four.
The NTSB is focusing their investigation on three items: the aircraft itself, the pilot's flying background and the plane's maintenance.
The single-engine Piper PA-24 aircraft crashed Saturday afternoon, minutes after it took off from Kestrel Airpark.
Witnesses reported seeing the plane nose dive before crashing into the trees just outside the Strutty's Feed and Pet store near Highway 281 and Highway 46.
"We are looking to gather everything from witness marks, how the airplane impacted the ground at an angle, where the burning did occur during the ground impact fire. Those are some of the major things we are gathering right now," said NTSB air safety investigator Ed Malinowski.
The Comal County Sheriff's Office said Michael Scott Galloway, 38, was flying the plane when it crashed. He, along with his wife, Heather Louise Galloway, 32, and their children, Clayton T. Galloway, 10, and Cheyenne Elizabeth Galloway, 8, died in the crash.
Malinowski expects to release a preliminary report in five to six days. He said it could be six months to a year before the investigation is complete.