A family and community mourns the loss of three members of one family. A Paradise father and his two sons died in a small plane crash over the weekend in Poolville.
“We’re at a loss for words, what to do, what to say, how to act," said Landon Smith.
He said his younger brother, Heath, would often go on hunting trips with his family.
“His boys loved him completely and worshipped the ground he walked on," Landon said. “If dad had an interest in it, then they had interest in it.”
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This time, Heath took his six-year-old Noah and eight-year-old Wyatt. His wife, Andrea, and oldest son, 11-year-old Collin, stayed back in Paradise for Collin's math and science competition.
“They had been on a hunting trip on his deer lease in south Texas and were returning home, trying to watch the Cowboys game as a family," Landon said.
That never happened.
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According to the National Transportation Safety Board, Heath's small plane crashed near Poolville, in Parker County, around 1:15 p.m. on Sunday.
Landon said Andrea had gotten an SOS alert from an app on Heath's phone.
“We headed to the pin location of where his phone was pinging," Landon said.
The Parker County Sheriff's Office said Heath, Noah, and Wyatt were all pronounced dead at the scene.
Landon said Heath was an experienced pilot and the family thinks the cause of the crash may have been weather-related, but they hope to find out more from the NTSB's investigation.
He said his brother had gotten his pilot's license in high school-- after Landon had bet him he couldn't do it.
“If I told him he couldn’t do something, then he’d darn sure do it, just to prove me wrong," Landon said.
He said his brother was also smart, getting accepted into Texas A&M medical school while still at Paradise High School.
“I was in eighth grade taking high school classes and so I thought I was pretty smart, but here was little brother in the same class with me, as a sixth grader," he said.
Heath was also an athlete in basketball, baseball, and even a track record-holder at Paradise High.
After becoming a physician, he came back to Paradise.
“This is the only place he wanted to live, only place he wanted to work. He only wanted to live in Paradise. He wanted his kids to be Paradise Panthers," Landon said.
Heath had also been serving on the Paradise ISD school board with Landon for the past four years and had become a father figure to other kids in the district.
“The loss of Heath is a loss for the community of Paradise," Landon said.
He was many things, and that is hard to replace, said Landon.
“He’s got big shoes to fill. And I’m not sure anyone can fill them," he said, talking to NBC 5 on what would have been Heath's 41st birthday. "Just going to be a big hole."
Community support
Paradise ISD superintendent Will Brewer posted a message on Facebook, saying, in part, "It is with profound sadness that I write this letter to the Paradise Community. On Sunday, the Dr. Heath Smith family suffered an unimaginable tragedy. As a beloved part of our community, our sincere condolences, thoughts and prayers are with this family."
Brewer stated that the district is offering extra counselors and trained staff for students and staff.
"This is an extremely difficult time for all of us and our primary concerns are to support the Smith family and our students and staff as they process their grief," he wrote.
A local church also posted a message to its Facebook page extending prayers and condolences.
In a Facebook post, the City of Paradise said the city is experiencing a tragedy.
"Once again, Paradise experiences tragedy. We have suffered more than our fair share of loss, so together we plead to our larger Wise County community for prayers and support. Our children have lost 2 more friends, and our school board, a dedicated servant. As a whole, we are heartbroken. And as a whole, we will work to heal," the post read.
