SALT LAKE CITY -- A plane carrying three Utah men crashed shortly after takeoff in Texas on Saturday, killing all three aboard, authorities say.
The Piper PA-46 had taken off from an airport near Paris, Texas, around 8 a.m. when it went down.
The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the men as Michael Endo, 50, Michael Dale Bradley, 44, and the pilot Rob Thompson, 49.
All three men worked for Utah-based Celtic Bank.
"This is a challenging and difficult time for the entire Celtic Bank family," bank CEO Reese Howell Jr. said in a statement.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash. The Public Safety Department said it was reportedly foggy and the plane attempted to turn back toward the airport before descending rapidly and crashing.
The plane burst into flames upon impact, FAA spokesman Roland Herwig said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Public Safety didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.
It was not clear if the pilot had radioed for assistance before the crash, NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway said. NTSB investigators were gathering evidence from the crash site, any witnesses and data radar data to determine why the plane crashed, he said.
According to a bank news release, Bradley was a real estate broker working with Celtic on the sale of some property in Texas. Endo was the bank's senior vice president and a commercial loan officer. Thompson was a professional pilot contracted by Celtic to fly the company's plane.
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