Father, teenage son killed in crash of small plane in North Texas

Jack Schwantz, 18, and Charles Schwantz, 55, died near Azle, Texas

AZLE, Texas – A high school student and his father were killed over the weekend when their small plane crashed in North Texas, officials said.

The single-engine Aeronca 7AC crashed just before 9 a.m. Saturday northwest of Fort Worth near Azle, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Jack Schwantz, 18, and Charles Schwantz, 55, who was piloting the craft, were killed in the crash, the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office said.

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Jack Schwantz was an Azle High School senior, an Azle Independent School District spokeswoman said. In a letter to parents, school Principal Randy Cobb said crisis counselors would be at the school Monday and throughout the week as needed.

“Charles Schwantz was an accomplished commercial pilot, and Jack had a passion for flying as the two spent many Saturdays flying together,” Azle football coach Devon Dorris told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in a text.

Dorris tweeted that those who knew Jack Schwantz, a lineman on the varsity team, "knew he was one of the greatest humans to ever put on the Azle Hornet jersey. That’s not talk; that’s truth.”

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.