One Dead As Small Plane Hits Lubbock TV Tower

Click to Enlarge

One person was killed Wednesday night when a small plane crashed into a television station's transmitter tower in Lubbock, Texas, according to CNN.

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-TV11, 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.