East Texas Pilot Dies After Plane Hits Airport Hangar

Investigators say a 60-year-old novice pilot has died after her small plane crashed into a hangar at an East Texas airport.

The Department of Public Safety says Debra Birch was alone in the plane during the crash around 5 p.m. Sunday at Cherokee County Airport near Jacksonville. Birch was transported to a Jacksonville hospital where she died Sunday night.

Trooper Tyson Metzig says the Jacksonville woman was doing practice takeoffs and landings in a single-engine plane. Richard Birch says his wife was on her third solo flight. Parts of the plane ended up stuck atop the hangar.

Associated Press