Five pickleball players died in a tragic plane crash in Texas on Thursday night as they were making their way to a tournament.
The players, all from the Amarillo Pickleball Club, have been identified as Seren Wilson, 19; Brooke Skypala, 45; Stacy Hedrick, 51; Justin “Glen” Appling, 37; and Hayden Dillard, 39.
“Today, the Club has received terrible news that we all must mourn in the loss of five members of our Amarillo pickleball family,” the club wrote in a Facebook post.
The announcement prompted several commenters to pay their respects.
“They were the greatest people I’ve ever met! Every tournament I was, at they were also there, and they were a hoot,” one person wrote.
“This breaks my heart. Praying for the family, friends, and all the pickleball community. May the Lord be their comfort in their time of need,” wrote another.
Pickleball participants draw heavily from the ranks of tennis players, and that was the case for the youngest victim in the crash, 19-year-old Seren Wilson.
The youthful pickleball player was memorialized by her high school tennis team.
“We are heartbroken to hear the terrible news of the loss of Amarillo High School graduate and Sandie Tennis alumni, Seren Wilson,” Amarillo High School team wrote.
“Seren loved big, and her presence, encouragement, and spirit will be deeply missed by so many.”
Two planes departed Amarillo bound for New Braunfels on Thursday. The doomed flight, a Cessna 421C, fell to the ground in a fiery explosion 40 miles south of Austin at 11 P.M. local time.
Flight-tracking data obtained by the Austin-American-Statesman showed that the plane made a sharp turn before executing a rapid, steep descent from 13,600 feet to 7,000 feet.
That was the last data emitted from the plane.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation of the crash.