Falls County sheriff on ill-fated flight from Houston: 'I don’t know if it was mechanical failure or maybe something else'

A small aircraft that took off from Houston Executive Airport for Waco Regional Airport crashed near the Central Texas city of Marlin on Tuesday (April 5), according to a report from Houston CBS affiliate KHOU. The station reported that the aviation accident killed two people.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that the single-engine Cessna T206H went down at around 12:40 p.m. near Marlin Airport, KHOU reported.

According to Falls County Sheriff Joe Lopez, it's unclear what caused the plane to crash.

“From my understanding, (the people killed in the crash) are experienced pilots so I don’t know if it was mechanical (failure) or maybe something else,” Lopez said, according to Waco CBS affiliate KWTX.

The station reported that Marlin City Manager Cedric Davis Jr. and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) confirmed the fatalities.

Lopez told KWTX that the aircraft didn't burst into flames upon impact, adding that a cause could be determined in two days. 

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are heading the crash investigation, according to the station. The names of the deceased haven't been released.

According to a Houston Executive Airport official, the six-seat Cessna departed at around 10:30 a.m. without any problems, Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported.

One hundred fifty miles separate Houston Executive Airport, which is in unincorporated Waller County outside of Houston, and Marlin Airport, some 30 miles southwest of Waco.