Five members of the Amarillo Pickleball Club were killed Thursday night when the twin-engine Cessna 421C they were traveling in crashed in Wimberley, Texas, about 40 miles southwest of Austin. The group was flying from Amarillo to New Braunfels to compete in a pickleball tournament, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The department on Saturday identified the victims as Justin Appling, the pilot; Hayden Dillard; Brooke Skypala; Stacy Hedrick; and Seren Wilson. Appling and Dillard were co-owners of a manufactured home dealership in Amarillo, which announced Friday it would remain closed through the weekend.
The crash has reverberated through the national community of competitive pickleball players, a world club members described as simultaneously vast and tightly bound.
“The pickleball world is super, super small, even though it’s huge at the same time,” said Sarah Lister, who played mixed doubles with Appling and Dillard. “When one of us has a tragedy like this, it’s like it’s the whole community that gets hit.”
Leroy Clifford, who had traveled to the tournament on another plane, said the five were more than teammates. “One thing I can say about this group is this group, you wanted to be around this group,” Clifford said. “They were fun, carefree, not uptight, just relaxed, loved to joke with each other, make fun of each other. You couldn’t ask for better friends, honestly.”
He played most often with Skypala, whom he called quick-witted and a natural athlete. Skypala, a married mother, had recently celebrated earning her license as a professional counselor after earning a master’s degree from West Texas A&M University. Last month she posted on social media that she was accepting clients navigating anxiety, trauma, and life transitions. The previous summer she helped organize a pickleball camp for children from the Amarillo Children’s Home.
Hedrick, known as “Rippy” for her powerful forehand, was remembered as someone with a big heart and a constant laugh. Dillard, a mother of two daughters — one about to start college — was described by Lister as an amazing businesswoman and mother.
Wilson, the youngest of the group, had been a standout tennis player at Amarillo High School, winning a University Interscholastic League team state championship in 2022. The Amarillo Pickleball Club said in a statement that “Seren loved big and her presence, encouragement, and spirit will be deeply missed by so many.”
Federal authorities are leading the investigation into the cause of the crash. Recorded air-traffic audio captured another pilot confirming the plane’s emergency locator transmitter had activated, and an air traffic controller subsequently called 911. The National Weather Service reported mostly cloudy conditions in the New Braunfels area shortly before the crash, with a thunderstorm arriving about two hours later.
The pickleball tournament the players were bound for, at the Cranky Pickle in New Braunfels, canceled its Friday events. “We’re very heavy-hearted, heartbroken from this,” said Martin Robertson, the venue’s head pro. “Everybody knows everybody.”
Clifford said the Amarillo club’s focus now is on the victims’ families. “It’s going to be a long road ahead,” he said. “But there’s a lot of love and support from everyone that knew these people.”