A Beechcraft Bonanza single engine propeller aircraft with retractable gear crashed in Andrews county injuring four onboard, the Texas DPS reported. The crash happened at 12:48 a.m. this morning at Andrews County Airport.
According to the preliminary report, the Bonanza was on short final approach and had encountered icing conditions. Ice had accumulated on the wings, possibly increasing the stall speed of the aircraft.
When the pilot reduced the power to land, the aircraft hit the ground short of runway 16, just to the north of the airfield.
All four were transported to Permian Regional Medical Center in Andrews with non-incapacitating injuries, DPS said.
They were: pilot Tom Lawrence Henley, 42; Melinda Young, 61; Sara Kathryn Henley, 39, all of Andrews. The fourth passenger injured was Julie Good, 40, of Twenty-Nine Palms, California. The Andrews County News reported on their Facebook page that Sara Henley and Julie Good were checked at the hospital and admitted only for observation.
At the time of the crash, the National Weather Service reported that the weather at Andrews County Airport was 29-degrees F, fog and mist with a dew point of 29-degrees F. The ceiling was 700 feet and the relative humidity was 96-percent.
DPS said that the FAA investigated the crash and was assisted by DPS, Andrews County Sheriff’s Department and Andrews County Fire Department.
The Bonanza was a vertical tail model, according to pictures from the crash scene.
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