Victims killed in Montgomery County crash identified

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – An aircraft crashed Sunday, killing two people in a residential neighborhood in Montgomery County, according to authorities.

The victims have been identified as pilot Nidal Aoki, 41, of Porter, Texas and passenger Karthik Balakrishnan, 46 of Pearland.

The crash occurred near the intersection of Elm Street and Linnwood Drive, southwest of Patton Village. The plane is described as a fixed-wing single-engine aircraft.

“When I heard the news, I couldn’t hold myself sitting at home,” local resident Ahmad Siddiqi said.

Siddiqi said the fatal crash left him heartbroken. He said he knew the pilot.

“He was a very good pilot and I have flown with him. He would take me to Galveston, Beaumont and different other places too,” he said.

Siddiqi, a priest at the Kingwood Islamic Center, says the pilot would come there all the time.

“He would come to the mosque every morning and he would pray,” he said.

The debris left behind from the crash is hard to make out and woke up neighbors.

“It’s devastating kind of hard to get out of your head,” Paula Bible said.

“I didn’t see it, but I heard the loud boom and it shook my house it literally shocks the house,” Judy Judy said.

It’s a devastating sight that left this small community upset.

“It is it’s a small town. You don’t expect to see this everyday. |So it’s something new to all of us and we can go without ever seeing this and hope it never happens to anyone again,” Woodbranch Mayor Mike Tyson said.

Now, friends and family are mourning the loss of a loved one.

“I was so close to him I still don’t believe it,” Siddiqi said.

Authorities have not yet determined the identities of the victims, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which will lead the investigation into the crash, is en route to the scene.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.