Victim of plane crash identified: Investigation ongoing

by Alexandria Randolph

The young man who died in a single-engine airplane that went down just east of the Burnet County line on Saturday morning, Aug. 23, has been identified as 24-year-old pilot John Sasser, of Cedar Park, Texas.

The incident was also responsible for igniting a brush fire that burned some 30 acres.

Initial reports are that the pilot may have been flying too low and struck a power line or trees, according to Travis County ESD 1 Chief Donnie Norman, who added the investigation is being conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA.)

All three entities will continue independent investigations, per protocol, Norman said.

It took firefighters from Marble Falls Area Volunteer Fire Department aiding the North Lake Travis Rescue (Travis County ESD 1) 12 hours to extinguish the blaze in Travis County along Singleton Bend Road, where the fire had been started when the two-seater plane crashed in that vicinity.

Two hours after the initial call, firefighters discovered the downed aircraft and the remains of one person.

For more on the story, see Friday's Highlander.