Young Pilot Killed in Lubbock Area Plane Crash

LUBBOCK – A 26-year-old man was killed when the twin engine airplane he was piloting crashed shortly after takeoff from the Lubbock Executive Airpark just before noon Friday.  

According to information from the crash investigation released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Tyler Blake Christie, 26, of Lavon, TX was at the controls of a Beechcraft Baron 58P twin engine private airplane.  Lavon is east of Plano near the Metroplex in north Texas.

The aircraft departed the runway at the Lubbock Executive Airpark on County Rd. 7500 at 11:38 a.m. Friday.  The Baron was only .75 of a mile from the runway when it went down at 11:40 a.m. and burst into flames.  

The DPS reports the pilot was unable to exit the aircraft and died at the crash scene.  Christie was pronounced dead at 12:06 p.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were notified and will take over the investigation of the cause of the crash.