Three off-duty Dallas police officers were injured — one critically — when their single-engine, private plane made an emergency landing and crashed into a Forney, Texas field early Saturday morning.
The Dallas Police Association confirmed via Facebook the officers were returning home from a “personal trip.”
“Our immediate focus is ensuring these officers and their families receive the support and care they need during this difficult time,” wrote the Dallas Police Association on Facebook.
“We ask the community to join us in praying for strength, healing, and a full recovery for everyone involved.”
Highway Patrol officers “responded around 12:20 a.m. to reports of a single-engine plane crash in a remote part of Kaufman County,” according to the Forney Police Department.
“Three occupants were aboard the aircraft. Two occupants were transported to a local hospital for treatment, while the third occupant was treated and released at the scene.”
The FAA and the Texas Department of Public Safety are investigating the incident.
The incident in Forney is one of many small plane crashes over the last week.
This past Thursday, a single-engine plane slammed into an Akron, Ohio home, with a family of four inside. The couple miraculously escaped, according to local authorities — the same day a medical plane slammed into the ground near Ruidoso, New Mexico, causing a massive fire.
A separate crash involving a single-engine plane killed the aviation-inclined son of former Mississippi governor Kirk Fordice, Dan Fordice, Tuesday at the Tallulah-Vicksburg Regional Airport.
Also on Tuesday, a twin-engine plane carrying 11 passengers and the pilot crashed in the Atlantic Ocean roughly 80 miles off the Florida coast.
The survivors spent five hours in a life raft before being hoisted to safety by a U.S. Air Force 920th Rescue Wing helicopter crew.
General Aviation — aviation involving small, private aircraft — accounts for roughly 90% of aircraft in the U.S.
The FAA reports about 363 General Aviation fatalities are recorded every year.
