Mystery surrounds the crash of a Van’s RV-6 near Galveston, Texas, on Tuesday, in which the occupant of the plane—it’s not yet known if they were a pilot or not—jumped into the running plane before it took off. It was only later that the plane crashed.
What is known is that the plane was undergoing maintenance of some kind. The FAA told a local outlet that the plane “jumped its chocks” and a nearby person jumped in the running plane, presumably to try to get it under control, though that did not happen. The takeoff of the plane was described in news reports as “unstable,” “wobbly” and “out of control,” but the plane did get airborne.
It then flew over Galveston Bay, northwest-bound—a distance of approximately 13 miles— before crashing in Hitchcock, Texas. An emergency room nurse who lived near the site of the crash rushed out to help, but it was clear to her immediately upon coming across the scene that the occupant was deceased. She said that she then called police.
Questions abound. How did the plane get away? Who was the person who jumped in and why, if they didn’t know how to fly the plane? Or if they did know how to fly it, why not either stop it from taking off or return to land once it had taken off? If the plane was indeed getting maintenance done, were there flight controls that were compromised, making the plane difficult to control?
We’ll update this story as details emerge.
