Air traffic audio: Other pilot helped search for missing plane after 'engine failure'

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Air traffic control audio and an early Federal Aviation Administration investigative report indicate engine failure occurred before a plane crashed into a Georgetown home Sunday.

The FAA's report notes the damage to the plane, a Beech model 35 Bonanza (BE35), was "substantial" but that injuries were "minor." Three people, including the pilot, were on board at the time.

Audio between the Georgetown Executive Airport control tower and the pilot show it was cleared to land on runway 36, which is at the south side of the airport.

"You gonna make the runway?" the air traffic controller said at one point, soon after instructing another pilot to "plan to go around" because of an aircraft "with an engine failure."

"We believe we lost a Bonanza off the approach end of 36," the air traffic controller instructs another pilot. "Go around, the airport's closed until we find this guy."

A second pilot offered to circle and try to find the crashed plane.

The plane crashed into a duplex on the 500 block of North Wood Drive, which is less than a mile from Runway 36 at the airport.

The plane's flight history shows it took off from Georgetown's airport at 9:26 a.m. and landed at the Gillespie County Airport at 9:57 a.m., taking off at 11:26 a.m. for Georgetown again. The Gillespie County Airport manager told KXAN they had stopped there for a "quick" lunch and didn't refuel before taking off.

"I'm sorry we made you wait," the air traffic controller eventually told one of the other planes waiting to land. "We had an airplane crash. We're trying to cover that."

Plane's history

FAA records show the plane is a fixed-wing single engine plane that uses a reciprocating engine. Reciprocating engines are also known as piston engines because they use one or more pistons within the internal combustion engine to convert pressure into a rotational motion, according to SKYbrary. SKYbrary is a website that "is an electronic repository of safety knowledge related to flight operations, air traffic management (ATM) and aviation safety."

This plane has not had an accident before, according to the NTSB website.