Pilot Killed In Crash Near Katy Narrowly Missed Homes: Police

KATY, TX — The pilot of a small aircraft was killed Thursday afternoon when his plane clipped a power line and crashed in a field.

The Texas Department of Public Safety responded to the crash site at about 4:15 p.m. near a subdivision in the 22000 block of Westerpine Lane in Katy, when they found the front portion of the aircraft lodged into the ground.

FAA officials said the plane, a single-engine Mooney M20, was registered out of Minnesota, took off in El Paso and was and was believed to be en route to the airport in West Houston when it crashed.

Officials said the crash could have been a lot worse.

The pilot narrowly missed crashing into a subdivision, before it clipped power lines and crashed nose-first into the ground about 200 yards from the subdivision, according to a KPRC report.

The crash knocked out power to residents adjacent to the crash site in the Westfield Village neighborhood. Power was restored to the neighborhood before 10 p.m.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.

The identity of the pilot has not been released.

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Image: Renee Schiavone, Patch

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