Published: October 07, 2009 12:44 am      

4 injured when plane from Okla. crashes in Texas

RHOME, Texas — Four men were being treated at Texas hospitals Tuesday after a twin-engine airplane that took off from Oklahoma crashed not far from Fort Worth, authorities said.

Lisa Block, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman, identified three of the injured as R.J. Schumacher, 84, of Fort Worth; Kendall Wayne Hill, 68, of Alvord; John Rodney Lawrence, 64, of Weatherford. Sherie Reppe, a spokeswoman for John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, said Schumacher was in serious condition and Hill and Lawrence were in critical condition Tuesday night.

A fourth person, Jerry Namy, 71, of Fort Worth, was taken to Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital, where he was in critical condition, according to spokeswoman Whitney Jodry.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Beechcraft King Air went down about 2:45 p.m. near Eagle Mountain Lake, about 20 miles northwest of Forth Worth in southern Wise County.

The plane had taken off from Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City and was bound for Fort Worth's Meacham Airport before its pilot reported engine failure, said FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford. Lunsford said the plane's pilot was in contact with air traffic controllers before the crash.

Block said Schumacher owned the plane and Lawrence was the pilot.