NTSB Investigating Fiery Crash at Granbury Airport

Two killed in fiery plane crash at Granbury Municipal Airport.

Experts from the National Transportation Safety Board are working to find out what caused a deadly plane crash Thursday night in Hood County.

Multiple witnesses told NBC 5 the plane banked very hard immediately after taking off from Granbury Municipal Airport; and they distinctly saw something wrong with its wing.

Officials said the plane was an experimental, amateur-built 1987 Buzby Mustang II.

"It made a funny noise and it seemed like something failed with its flaps and it went straight down after that,” said witness Jordon Sweatt said.

The fiery crash happened very close to a crowded high school football stadium at Granbury High School.

Granbury and Burleson were playing a freshman football game when the plane crashed at the end of the first quarter. Several football coaches from both squads ran off the field immediately to try and see if they could save the pilot's life.

The coaches who ran from the football field to the crash site said they’re still haunted by what they saw.

"You see the plane take off, and almost immediately we heard like a weird noise, that you knew something was wrong. And one of the other coaches said 'look at that!" And we looked up and you could it just drop straight down," said Jordon Sweatt, a coach for the varsity team who was observing the freshman play Thursday night.

"Your heart just immediately sinks. Because you know from the angle it went down, the chances of something positive coming out of it were pretty slim," he added.

Two men died in the crash. Their names have not been released yet but the NTSB did confirm one of the men lived in the Oklahoma City area.

The crash happened at the end of the first quarter of the game. Players screamed from the field; parents shouted from the stands.

Viewers sent in photos to NBCDFW showing just how close the plane crashed to the football stadium.

"Last night I did think about that, about how close it was to where all the people were. It could have been worse, but I mean regardless of how you look at it, it’s still tragic, to lose two individuals," Sweatt said. “That’s two families who are grieving right now.”

After the impact, coaches from both teams ran out of the stadium.

The coaches wanted to help, but the plane was a ball of fire. A barbed wire fence separates the road from the airport infield. Police and paramedics arrived quickly, asking onlookers to stay back for fear of a gas leak and further explosions.

“What’s going through my mind today is that people lost family members,” said Granbury football coach Stephen Hodge, who witnesses describe as the first coach to run off the field to get to the crash scene.

“It’s just an instinct, really. My reaction was to see what was going on and if there was something I could do,” Hodge said. “But they had us all stay far back.”

"It’s a sickening feeling, there’s no doubt. Your stomach is all twisted and turned. So many thoughts going through your head,” Sweatt said. “You felt helpless just standing there.”

Granbury’s varsity team plays a home game Friday night.

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