WALLER, Texas – Detectives said Wednesday that they know who was piloting a plane carrying drugs that made a hard landing at an airport and then disappeared, but they have not found him yet.
A twin-engine Beech aircraft landed at Houston Executive Airport about 8:30 p.m. Monday.
Local 2 Investigates reported Monday the pilot, identified Wednesday as Barrington Carl Slack, 33, had no contact with air traffic controllers before hitting the runway at such speed it caused the plane's nose gear to collapse.
"This plane did not pop up on local radars, which means it was flying very, very low," Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith said.
Investigators said the pilot was gone, but 100 pounds of marijuana was found near the plane.
Smith said it appeared Slack tried to run away with the marijuana, but quickly drop the drugs because the bundles were too heavy.
Slack recently bought the plane for $65,000 cash about three weeks ago.
Detectives said Slack has crashed a plane in the past. He was at the controls of a plane that crashed in Burke County, Georgia, in October 2010. Published reports showed that he survived that crash by parachuting to safety, investigators said.
Slack has been the target of a narcotics-trafficking investigation in Georgia for the past two years, officials said.
"They've got a pretty thick file on him out there," a law enforcement source said.
Slack, who has a lengthy criminal history, has been charged with felony possession of marijuana.
KPRC Local 2 obtained a picture of Slack from a website that posts mug shots on the Internet. The photograph of Slack was taken in February in Georgia. Law enforcement sources confirmed the person in the online photo is Slack.
Anyone with information regarding Slack's whereabouts is asked to call their local law enforcement agency.