Small plane crashes into Texas TV tower, pilot killed

[February 05, 2015]  (Reuters) - The pilot of a small plane died on Wednesday night after crashing into a TV tower in western Texas, officials said, knocking a television station off the air.

The single-engine plane crashed into the tower near the Preston Smith International Airport in Lubbock, Texas around 8 p.m. local time, said Lubbock Police Sergeant Phil Rolan.

The pilot died in the crash, Rolan said, adding that he was the only person on board.

Local broadcaster KCBD NewsChannel 11 reported that their station was knocked off the air as a result of the accident. The network said that staff were asked to evacuate the nearby broadcast building, but no one was hurt.

Rolan said that the crash also knocked out power in the surrounding area.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a Piper PA-46 and was approaching the airport after departing from Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Lubbock is a city of roughly 230,000 people some 290 miles (467 km) west of Fort Worth.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.