An award-winning local TV news anchor in New Orleans died in a plane crash while working on a story about a stunt pilot, NBC News reports.
Nancy Parker, 53, was killed along with the pilot, Franklin J.P. Augustus, on Friday when the plane crashed into a field near the New Orleans Lakefront Airport. The cause of the crash in under investigation, local officials said.
Parker, who earned five Emmy Awards for her work as a journalist, was a fixture in New Orleans and at the station she worked at for 23 years, her station said. Her colleagues choked back tears as they shared news of the fatal accident during their newscast.
“Nancy was absolutely a joy to work with each and every day,” said the station's vice president and general manager, Tim Ingram. “Today we lost a wonderful journalist and remarkable friend, the New Orleans television community lost a true treasure, but beyond that, her family lost a wife, a mother and daughter. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”