A Champion 7EC airplane crashed into Eagle Mountain Lake near Fort Worth, killing the pilot, on Oct. 7, 2024.
The pilot killed in a plane crash into Eagle Mountain Lake earlier this month has been identified.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office identified the pilot as 60-year-old Stephen Lee Spence.
According to FAA records, Spence was the registered owner of the single-engine Champion 7EC aircraft that crashed into the lake on the afternoon of Oct. 7.
The medical examiner's office listed Spence's causes of death as blunt force injuries and drowning.
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The NTSB released a preliminary crash report last week, saying a search revealed no Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data associated with the flight.
ADS-B is a system that broadcasts information about an aircraft's location, altitude, ground speed, and other data to ground stations and other aircraft. Sending ADS-B Out data is required when flying in most areas, including within the Class B airspace around North Texas.
The NTSB report said Spence's single-engine Champion 7EC aircraft appeared structurally intact before crashing into the water under clear skies at about 12:40 p.m. Surveillance footage from a home on the lake recorded the plane gradually descending at about a 45-degree angle and hitting the water.
The pilot's family told the NTSB he was flying out of Flying Oaks Airport, a private grass strip in Fort Worth about three miles southwest of the lake. The family said the pilot departed to have lunch at an unknown location and was expected to return to Flying Oaks.
FAA records showed Spence owned the aircraft since 2004 and was last issued a medical certificate in 2008.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
