On Thursday afternoon, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden pilot crashed a small plane into Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, Texas.
According to Austin-Travis County EMS, one male patient was brought to a local hospital with possibly critical injuries.
The jet took off for a test flight from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, according to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department official.
According to a department representative, the jet had just returned from normal maintenance and the pilot was on a test flight when they reported technical troubles, forcing them to land in Lady Bird Lake.
A paddleboarder seemed to be assisting the pilot from the wreckage in videos broadcast on social media and the Citizen app.
The plane crashed close south of Rainey St, a famous downtown neighborhood with clubs and restaurants, west of the I-35 bridge.
A representative for Austin Bergstrom International Airport said air traffic control informed the airport about an approaching private plane that needed to make an emergency landing soon before 2 in the afternoon.
The National Transportation Safety Bureau will investigate the collision, according to a representative for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The pilot was panting and looked to be in shock, according to the person who assisted. It took him around five minutes to get the injured man onto dry land, he added.
According to paramedics who came to the site, the pilot was transferred to Dell Seton Medical Center with possibly critical injuries.
