BRIDGEPORT, Texas – Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are pointing to unfavorable weather conditions as a possible factor in the tragic small plane crash that claimed the life of a North Texas school board member, a surgeon, and their two young sons on Jan. 14. Heath Smith, 40, and his sons, Noah, 6, and Wyatt, 8, were on their way back to Wise County from a hunting trip when their twin-engine Cessna went down in a wooded area about 13 miles southwest of the Bridgeport Municipal Airport.
According to a preliminary NTSB report, weather advisories indicated the possibility of moderate icing and light rime ice in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The report mentioned that Smith was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan and had received an electronic weather briefing before takeoff.
The tragedy struck as the plane was descending from 7,000 feet, with evidence of two propeller strikes discovered nearly half a mile from the wreckage site. Smith, who was flying in instrumental meteorological conditions, may have been guided solely by his instruments due to unclear weather conditions.
Landon Smith, Heath Smith’s older brother, noted that the family believes ice and freezing temperatures may have played a role in the accident, particularly given the arrival of an Arctic cold front in North Texas the day before the crash. Describing his brother as someone who “touched countless lives,” Landon shared that the family was taking the grieving process one day at a time.
The NTSB’s investigation into the crash is ongoing as authorities work to determine the exact cause of the tragedy. Amid the heartache and loss, the community mourned the untimely deaths of Heath Smith, his sons, and the heavy-hearted realization of the loved ones left behind to navigate life without them.