FAA says 2 dead in small plane crash in Texas

CONROE, Texas – The Federal Aviation Administration says a small plane has crashed after taking off from an airport north of Houston, killing two people on board.

FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford says in an email that the single-engine experimental aircraft took off from the Conroe airport just before 9 a.m. Saturday. Soon after, the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit, declared an emergency and tried to return to the airport, but the plane crashed a half-mile north.

Lunsford says the plane exploded when it crashed. It was a homebuilt Ravin 500, N913RA.

An FAA investigator has been sent to the scene, and the National Transportation Safety Board is sending an investigator as well.

Conroe is about 40 miles north of Houston.