Plane Crashes in Mineral Wells


Downed Plane Near Airport Photo Credit Dorlinda Ingersoll
On July 23, 2021 at approximately 7:54 am, Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers were notified of a downed aircraft near Farm-to-Market Road 1195 and MH 379 in Mineral Wells.
According to DPS Public Information Officer Randy Hunter, preliminary reports indicate a single engine Beechcraft aircraft with two people onboard departed a private airstrip near Peaster and was heading to the Mineral Wells Municipal Airport.
“The aircraft had a mechanical issue that forced the pilot, 46-year-old Earl Sanford Fields II, of Weatherford, to make an emergency landing in a field near the airport. Fields was flown by air ambulance to a Fort Worth area hospital. A passenger, William C. Elms, 57, also of Weatherford, was taken by ground ambulance to Palo Pinto General Hospital. The injuries of the two persons were undisclosed,” said Hunter.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been contacted and will be conducting an investigation.