One person was killed Wednesday night when a small plane crashed into a television station’s transmitter tower in Lubbock, Texas.
The plane, a single-engine Piper PA-46, crashed about 7:30 p.m. as it approached Preston Smith International Airport, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane hit the transmitter tower of KCBD, knocking both the station off the air and power out in the surrounding neighborhood, before crashing into a field. Lubbock fire officials feared the tower, located just north of the station’s studio, was unstable and had the studio evacuated, CNN affiliate KCBD said.
“It is unsafe to stay in the building,” said Steve Holland, a spokesman for the Lubbock Fire and Rescue Department.
No one at the station was injured and KCBD aired its 10 p.m. Wednesday newscast from an alternate location.
The name of the victim was not released by authorities.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
