Five Amarillo Pickleball Club Members Die in Texas Plane Crash

Five members of the Amarillo Pickleball Club died when a Cessna 421C crashed in Wimberley, Texas Hill Country, while they were flying from Amarillo to a tournament in New Braunfels. Texas Department of Public Safety identified the pilot as Justin Appling and named the other victims as Hayden Dillard, Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala and Stacy Hedrick. All five people aboard died at the scene after the plane went down around 11 p.m. Thursday, April 30, about 40 miles southwest of Austin.

For the Amarillo club, the loss landed as more than a travel accident. In a statement, the group said it had lost five members of its “pickleball family,” a phrase that captured how tightly the club had bonded around weekly games, tournament runs and the long drives that come with the sport’s amateur circuit. Dan Dyer, the club president, said he had played many games with four of the five victims and called them “excellent players.” He added, “Every weekend there are dozens of tournaments. Some people get the bug; others don’t. But once they do, they’ll travel for a tournament.”

The group had been headed to play at the Cranky Pickle in New Braunfels, where organizers canceled Friday’s action and planned a prayer and tribute before resuming play Saturday. Head pro Martin Robertson said the venue would pause to honor the dead before players returned to the courts. The response showed how quickly grief spread beyond Amarillo, touching the tournament scene that draws players who know each other by name, not just by DUPR or bracket line.

Officials said preliminary information suggested the aircraft was traveling at a high rate of speed at impact, and there was no indication of a mid-air collision. A second aircraft traveling in the area landed safely in New Braunfels. The Federal Aviation Administration said the National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, and the NTSB said preliminary accident reports are usually available within a few days.

For amateur pickleball, the crash was a brutal reminder of how far the game’s social web reaches. These were not anonymous passengers; they were the people who show up for early starts, load paddle bags into cars and chase one more weekend on the tournament calendar. The Amarillo club’s loss will be felt every time a group from one Texas court road-trips to another.