The aircraft went down northwest of Normangee near Hilltop Lakes stables Sunday morning.

By Mia MontgomeryJessica Gruenling and Rusty Surette

HILLTOP LAKES, Texas (KBTX) – Four people died Sunday morning in a plane crash near Hilltop Lakes in Leon County. According to officials it was two couples on board the plane.

According to flight records, the 1984 single-engine plane left Horseshoe Bay Resort near Marble Falls, west of Austin, at 10:00 a.m. Sunday and was headed to the Natchitoches, Louisiana Regional Airport.

Troopers say on the way, the plane started to have engine issues. The aircraft was attempting to make an emergency landing at Hilltop Lakes Airport when it crashed near the Hilltop Lakes stables north of Normangee around 10:45 a.m.

Officials say the pilot had been in contact with the FAA before the crash, saying the plane was having engine problems.

A witness tells KBTX the plane was flying extremely low to the ground and once the pilot started pulling up the motor stopped turning.

“He got over the putt-putt area across from the stables. He banked left almost overcorrected and then banked right again and then he banked left one last time and when he did that second bank to the left he pretty much nose-dived straight vertical into the ground,” said Justin DeLeon, a Hilltop Lakes resident.

DeLeon says he and one other man ran to the plane to see if they could help.

According to the flight track, the plane made it 18,000 feet altitude before it descended less than an hour into the flight. The aircraft is registered to KMAC Bravo LLC in Lafayette, Louisiana.

No names of those involved have been publicly released at this time.

https://www.kbtx.com/2020/09/20/plane-crash-kills-four-in-leon-county/