Two people were killed Wednesday when a plane crashed and burst into flames shortly after takeoff from an East Texas airstrip, sources tell NBC 5.
First responders were seen placing two tarps over what remained of the burned out aircraft, indicating there were two victims in the crash.
The airstrip's owner, Walter Meziere of Quinlan, was the pilot of the aircraft. Trooper Kyle Bradford of the Texas Department of Public Safety says Meziere, who was 54, and his 49-year-old passenger, Joe Livingston of McKinney, were both killed in the crash.
According to Lynn Lunsford with the Federal Aviation Administration, the single-engine Piper PA-24, which can seat four occupants, had departed the private Rockin' M Airport northeast of Quinlan early Wednesday afternoon.
Only a few moments later, the plane crashed into a field about 1,000 feet east of the north-south grass runway. The plane came to rest a few yards from a residence in rural Hunt County.
At this time, the cause of the crash remains under investigation.