Kerrville plane crash: Remembering the victims
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston entrepreneur, an investment banker active in local charities, and the husband of Houston Ballet's artistic director are among the dead in a plane crash in Kerrville.
The family of Marc Tellepsen confirms with ABC13 Eyewitness News that he was killed when the twin-engine Beechcraft BE58 he was traveling in crashed into the rocky terrain of the Texas Hill Country.
Tellepsen, 45, was the owner of landscape architect firm Tellepsen Landscaping.
He was also related to the family that founded the renowned construction firm Tellepsen Builders.
His family released this statement:
The family of Marc Tellepsen is extremely grateful for the outpouring of support from our friends, family and fellow Houstonians at this incredibly difficult time. We hope you understand our need for privacy as we grieve for the loss of our husband, father, beloved family member and friend.
Mark Scioneaux, 58, is the husband of Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch, and according to his LinkedIn page, worked in architecture and planning for Tellepsen Landscaping.
"Words cannot express the sadness our Houston Ballet family feels over the sudden loss of Mark Scioneaux and the other 5 lives lost in the tragic plane accident yesterday. We will dearly miss Mark, the loving husband of our artistic director, Stanton Welch AM. He was a true friend to each of us in our tight-knit ballet family. He exuded a genuine warmth, with a kindness and big heart that defined him. Simply put, everyone loved Mark. And, we will work to keep his memory, his love and his kind spirit alive," said a statement from the Houston Ballet.
Jeffrey C. Weiss was a senior vice president for investments at Raymond James and Associates in Houston. The Texas Department of Public Safety says the 65-year-old Weiss, who co-owned the Beechcraft BE58, was at the controls when the aircraft went down just before 9 a.m. Monday while approaching Kerrville Municipal Airport, about 70 miles northwest of San Antonio.
Weiss owned the plane with his friend and fellow pilot Charles Morina. He said Weiss loved to fly and the pair volunteered their time transporting sick people from remote regions to Texas hospitals for Angel Flight.
DPS Sgt. Orlando Moreno identified the other victims as 55-year-old Stuart Roben Kensinger; 54-year-old Angela Webb Kensinger; and 55-year-old Scott Reagan Miller.
St. John's School Headmaster Mark Desjardins sent a message about the deaths of Stuart and Angela. Stuart was a graduate of St. John's in 1981, and Angela was the school's long time varsity girls' lacrosse head coach.
"This is shocking news for our entire community. At school tomorrow, we will have grief counselors available throughout the day for any student in need of support and guidance. Our thoughts and prayers are with all members of the Kensinger family, especially their son, Philip '16, and many individuals within our community who were close with Angie and Stuart. There are no words to describe the overwhelming sense of grief that we all feel over this devastating and sudden loss of two very close friends of this community," Desjardins wrote.
For the first time, we are also hearing from the son of the Kensingers, Philip.
In a statement to ABC13, he spoke about his parents as well as Weiss, who inspired him to become a pilot.
The family of Angie and Stuart are at a loss for words at the profound outpouring of love and support from family and friends and the entire community. They touched the lives of so many in the Houston community and beyond and they will be incredibly missed. Their impact on those who knew them will certainly live on forever.
I'd also like to share the following about Jeff Weiss, the pilot. I am a pilot myself, and Jeff is the entire reason I am. His love for aviation was infectious, and he instilled a love for it in me since I was a young kid. I have never known a better pilot, and his obsession with safety was second to none. In more recent times when I became a pilot myself, I would ride with him and he would teach me invaluable lessons and tips on being a safe pilot. I rest assured knowing that there is nobody I would trust more in those final moments, and I know he did everything he could to change the outcome. I will dearly miss him and will never forget everything he taught me about aviation as I continue to fly in the future.
I also want to say I am joining the other families in grief and my deepest sympathies go out to them as well.
Reagan Miller was traveling to Hunt, Texas for a landscaping pool project at the Kensigner's property.
Miller attended the Covenant Church, "Reagan is one of the kindest people you would ever meet, he was always ready to lend a hand and help in any way. He would jump in and do the dishes in a heartbeat," said Minister Laura Mayo.
The Tellepsen family say they believe an architectural client chartered the plane and were taking Tellepsen and Scioneaux on a short trip to survey some property when it crashed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
