An airplane crash just south of the Ruston Regional Airport Tuesday morning has claimed one life.
Jackson Parish Sheriff Andy Brown announced the pilot, the sole occupant of the plane, was killed in the crash.
The name of the pilot had not been provided to the news media at publication time.
Aircraft tracking programs available online show the Cirrus SR22 aircraft left Huntsville, Texas at 8:30 a.m. and crashed at 9:50 a.m. in a wooded area off La. Highway 146 near Old Snipe Road between Ruston and Kellys. The location is in Jackson Parish just south of the Lincoln Parish line and about five miles south of the Ruston airport.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the aircraft’s registered owner is LaSalle Management Company, LLC, of Ruston.
LaSalle is a subsidiary of LaSalle Corrections, a company that develops and operates correctional facilities. It provides a wide range of services to law enforcement agencies, including facility development, financing, management, security, and inmate programs. LaSalle Corrections manages 18 correctional facilities in Louisiana, Texas, and Georgia.
The Cirrus SR22 is a popular, four-seat, single-engine aircraft known for its advanced avionics, performance, and safety features like the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS). No information was available on whether the parachute was deployed prior to the crash.
Another aircraft crashed near Lafayette earlier in the morning, killing three occupants.
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