Huntsville plane crash: Authorities identify father and son killed while leaving Texas airport

On Wednesday, September 6, a plane crash at Texas' Huntsville Municipal Airport led to the deaths of two people. The victims, who were father and son, were identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety as Ethan and Elijah Bishop.

Ethan Bishop, 20, was reportedly piloting the plane, while Elijah Bishop acted as co-pilot. Officials have not reported any further injuries or deaths in relation to the accident.

As of Thursday, September 7, the Huntsville plane accident remains under investigation. Officials have not confirmed the circumstances behind the incident, nor discussed the possibility of foul play.

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Huntsville plane accident: The flight reportedly crashed near the runway

According to Click 2 Houston, Ethan and Elijah Bishop took off from Huntsville airport on a Cessna 150. At 10:28 on Wednesday, they went North of the airport before reportedly practicing takeoffs and landings.

The flight systems are said to have shut down at about 11:47 am, before the crash occurred at 12 approximately 12:10 pm.

According to KBTX, the plane crashed near the runway, indicating that there may have been an attempt to land. After the crash, local authorities quickly arrived at the scene and cordoned off the space where the debris lay strewn.

They noted that while one of the victims was dead at the scene, the other passed from his injuries while on the way to the hospital.

As reported by Flight Aware, the plane showed similar flight patterns on Tuesday. As a result, authorities believe that Ethan Bishop may have been practicing takeoffs and landings with the help of his father for a sustained period. However, officials have yet to confirm whether the Bishops were indeed commandeering the aircraft in the prior flights.

The probe into the Huntsville crash is primarily being handled by the Federal Aviation Authorities.

At this stage in the investigation, officials have not discussed whether the crash may have been caused my misconduct, substance abuse, or any breaches of protocol.

According to the Stephen Law Firm, a majority of plane crashes in the State of Texas involve private aircrafts.

In 2021 alone, the NTSB reported that there have been 118 major aviation accidents in the State. In 20 of the total number of accidents, at least 33 people were reported dead, while 19 sustained serious injuries.

Another 16 crashes led to 30 people suffering minor injuries. Of all the reported incidents, only one involved a commercial airplane.

As noted by Aviation Disaster Law, small private aircrafts are particularly vulnerable to birds and extreme weather conditions.

However, the website stated that a vast majority of accidents are caused by errors among pilots. Second to this, mechanical failures are also frequently cited as the reason behind aviation-related fatalities.