At about 1550 Central time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted water following a loss of control near Hemphill, Texas. The private pilot and the two passengers aboard were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. While the airplane was in cruise flight near Monroe, La., ATC lost contact. Repeated attempts to contact the pilot were unsuccessful as the airplane continued flying a straight line at 10,000 feet msl. At 1549, radar contact was lost. Several fishermen on the Toledo Bend Reservoir reported hearing an airplane engine “cutting out, sputtering or stalling.” They then observed the accident airplane descending nose down and impacting the reservoir. Local authorities report the scattered airplane wreckage came to rest in water approximately 40 feet deep. No evidence suggests the ballistic parachute had been deployed.
