Austin, TX
Victim names released in fiery plane crash that killed 5 in Central Texas
WIMBERLY, Texas – The names of all five people killed in the Central Texas plane crash late Thursday night have been released.
Plane crash victim names
The latest:
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the names of the five victims in the Wimberly, Texas crash are as follows:
- Justin Appling (pilot)
- Hayden Dillard
- Seren Wilson
- Brooke Skypala
- Stacy Hedrick
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigators are on scene and serving as the lead investigative agencies, DPS said in their Saturday release.
What we don’t know:
The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.
Fatal Texas plane crash
The backstory:
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra says first responders received the call just after 11 p.m. April 30 about an aircraft down in the Wimberley area.
The crash happened in a wooded area in the 200 block of Round Rock Road, near the area of Ledgerock Road and FM 2325, northwest of Wimberley. The NTSB says the crash happened at around 11:03 p.m.
A post-impact fire destroyed the plane, says the NTSB.
According to FlightAware, the plane was on its way to New Braunfels from Amarillo.
The aircraft has been identified as a Cessna 421C that had five people on board. All five are confirmed dead.
A preliminary investigation shows the plane was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the crash, but there is no indication of a mid-air crash. A second plane traveling in the same area landed safely in New Braunfels.
Flight tracking data shows the plane had a normal takeoff, climbing to 17,400 feet, but just before 11 p.m., something went wrong. The data showed the plane suddenly started dropped, plunging more than 5,000 feet per minute. Within minutes, radar contact was lost.
The Source: Information in this update comes from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Austin, TX
Texas Capital Bank moving into Stonelake’s 415 Colorado in Austin
Texas Capital Bank has inked a lease at 415 Colorado in downtown Austin, and is set to move its San Jacinto Center branch into the building.
The Dallas-based bank is set to occupy the entire 17th floor and parts of the 16th floor of the 47-story building, according to the Austin Business Journal. 415 Colorado is mixed-use, and its 110,000 square-feet of office space is now 50% leased. Its residential portion, over 420,000 square-feet with 328 luxury apartment units, is 86% leased.
Stonelake Capital Partners, which built and owns the building, has an office in the building. Edelman, Tree Line Capital Partners, and Valterra Partners are notable tenants at 415 Colorado, according to the outlet.
Stream Realty’s Randy Cooper and Craig Wilson represented Texas Capital on the lease, according to the outlet.
Stonelaker recently abandoned plans to redevelop 504 East 5th Street, just five blocks west of 415 Colorado. Stonelake did not comment on why it was abandoning the East 5th Street project, which used to be the site of downtown staple Carmelo’s Italian Restaurant. After scrapping the plans to build a 37-story apartment tower in 2025, Stonelake listed the half-acre property.
During the pandemic, office space in Austin saw a rush of demand from tech companies relocating from California to the Texas state capital. That has slowed, and net absorption of office space in Austin was negative in 2025.
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Austin, TX
Austin lands top-5 spot on new list of best park systems in Texas
Austin and its stellar park system were just ranked the fifth-best in Texas, according to the newly released ParkScore Index.
Every year, land conservation nonprofit Trust for Public Land rates the park systems in the 100 largest American cities with regard to their accessibility, equity, acreage, investment, and amenities.
On a national level, the best park systems are located in Washington, D.C. (No. 1); Irvine, California (No. 2); Minneapolis (No. 3) and St. Paul (No. 4), Minnesota; and Cinncinati, Ohio (No. 5).
Austin’s No. 47 ParkScore ranking in 2026 is a solid improvement over last year’s No. 54 rank.
The organization attributes much of the city’s progress to numerous recent new parks in South Austin and downtown, which have dramatically increased the percentage of residents that live within close proximity of a park — a crucial metric in the report’s methodology. Currently, 76 percent of Austinites live within a 10-minute walk of a park, compared to 68 percent last year.
“Ten years ago, only 48 percent of Austin residents lived within a 10-minute walk of a park,” a release said. “The city’s dedication to opening new parks in park-deficient neighborhoods is paying off.”
Austin also spends far more to maintain its park system — a three-year average of about $236 per resident — than the national average $154 per resident. The Austin City Council is currently considering a $260 million bond investment that would benefit the local park system and Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department.
Elsewhere in Texas, Plano and Frisco in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex boast the best park systems in the state.
Molly Morgan, the Texas State Director and Associate Vice President of Trust for Public Land, said in the release that Texas’ high-scoring performance in the annual index has proved that it is making park accessibility a statewide priority.
“Cities across the Lone Star State are making serious investments, opening new parks, partnering with school districts, and closing gaps that have existed for decades,” Morgan said. “They’re showing what’s possible when Texas gets serious about parks.”
Morgan added that there’s still more work to be done to increase park accessibility to the 9 million Texans that don’t have a park within a 10-minute walk of their homes.
Here’s how the rest of Texas stacks up in the national ranking:
- No. 13 – Plano
- No. 30 – Frisco
- No. 38 – Dallas
- No. 45 – Arlington
- No. 58 – Fort Worth
- No. 61 – San Antonio and El Paso (tied)
- No. 64 – Garland
- No. 69 – Houston
- No. 71 – Irving
- No. 72 – Corpus Christi
- No. 77 – Laredo
- No. 96 – Lubbock
Austin, TX
Live updates: Scattered storms make their way through Central Texas
AUSTIN (KXAN) – Severe thunderstorms are moving through Central Texas Thursday evening. Here is the latest forecast from the First Warning Weather team.
Here are the main headlines:
Thursday
9:04 p.m.: KXAN viewer Tiffany Morgan sent in this photo from Pflugerville.
8:29 p.m.: KXAN’s Andy Way is in Georgetown and sent in this photo of the orange sky.

8:14 p.m.: KXAN’s Madison Myers is in Marble Falls tracking the storms and sent in this video.
8:00 p.m.: See Austin area rainfall totals here.
7:30 p.m.: Low Water Crossing #6 7748 Spicewood Springs Rd in Austin is closed.
7:22 p.m.: Oncor is reporting a power outage in Taylor affecting almost 1,500 customers. The full Oncor outage map can be found here.
7:11 p.m.: Austin Energy is reporting one power outage affecting 1,500+ customers in west Austin, north of Emma Long Metro Park, in the Glenlake neighborhood.
7:06 p.m.: Multiple road closures are being reported in Marble Falls.
- 800 Blk Ave L Between Broadway St. & Ninth St.
- 1300 Blk Broadway St (Childress Park) Between Ave L & Ave N
- 800 Blk Main St. Between Broadway St. & Ninth St.
6:49 p.m.: A Flash Flood Warning is in effect for northwestern Blanco, southwestern Burnet and southeastern Llano until 9:45 p.m. Life threatening flash flooding is possible with this storm.
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