Hawker 700 Down, No Clues On Cause

Federal investigators are on the scene in Beaumont (TX), after the mysterious wreck of a Hawker 700 aircraft Saturday. Three people were killed in the incident after the aircraft departed Houston Hobby Airport Saturday afternoon.

The dead have been identified as: pilot David Shane Howard, 36, of Brenham (TX); and passengers Ronald Keith Trahan, 42, of Vidor (TX) and Santiago Miravete, 27, of Webster (TX).

FAA Spokesman John Clabes said the aircraft, on a training mission, had been expected in Beaumont later in the evening, according to the flight plan. But, at 6:56 pm, it disappeared from radar. Radio contact was lost. "There's no radio indication of what happened," Clabes said. "We just lost radio and radar contact." Some media reports indicate this was a training flight.

The aircraft went down about 15 miles from the airport in Beaumont, he said.

Beaumont resident Jane Salna said she was gardening when she saw the jet making odd noises overhead. "And then it started to swing like a leaf falling from a tree," she said in today's edition of the Beaumont Enterprise. "Then we heard a muffled poof."

The aircraft was owned by Star Flite Aviation of Houston.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov