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Fox News
08-07-2025
- General
- Fox News
Beloved family of four killed in tragic plane crash while returning home from beach vacation
A beloved family of four were tragically killed when their plane went down in a field while traveling home from their beach vacation. "It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of one of our Crusader Families," Grace Christian Sanford School wrote in a post on Facebook. "The Buchanan Family; Students Aubrey (rising 5th) and Walker (rising 4th) along with their parents, Travis and Candace, went to be with the Lord today," the statement continued. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed to Fox News Digital that a Cirrus SR22 crashed in a wooded area in Sanford, North Carolina, around 1:45 p.m. local time on Monday, July 7. A spokesperson for the North Carolina Highway Patrol told Fox News Digital that four people were on board the plane when it crashed. Authorities confirmed later that day that all four individuals on board had died. Three victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while the fourth passed away at a local hospital. The victims were identified as Travis Buchanan, 35, his wife, Candace Buchanan, 35, and their children, Aubrey, 10, and Walker, 9. "During this incredibly difficult time, we stand together in support of their family and one another. We extend our love, prayers and deepest condolences to their family, friends, classmates, teachers and staff," the school said. "Let us honor their memory with compassion and love," the school wrote. The family owned Buchanan Farms, according to a post on the business's Facebook page. "Let us introduce ourselves for all of those who don't know us personally already. Hey y'all! We're Travis and Candace Buchanan, and we're the owners of Buchanan Farms. The two little cuties are our minis, Aubrey and Walker. You'll see them helping out around the store or on a tractor with their daddy," a March 2022 post read. Abraham Garcia, a man who said he worked for Travis Buchanan for more than eight years at Buchanan Farms, told WRAL that the family was heading back from the beach when their plane crashed. According to FAA records, the plane is registered to Travis Buchanan of Sanford. It took off from Merritt Island, Florida, around 11 a.m. on Monday and was last tracked near Sanford at approximately 1:30 p.m., based on data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Sanford is located about 40 miles southwest of Raleigh. A local restaurant also confirmed the families' passing, offering condolences to those impacted by the tragedy. "It is with heavy hearts that we share this post about the passing of the Buchanan Farms family. Travis, his wife and kids were more than customers to us, they were friends," Los Charros Mexican Restaurant wrote in a statement on Facebook. "I still remember the day Travis came to the restaurant and brought us a lot of his harvests to try, we even name a margarita after his farm. During this difficult time, we stand together in support of their family. We send all our prayers, support and condolences to their families and friends." Another local business, Nickie Runyan Photography, shared fond memories with the family and called the family's passing "an immense loss." "Travis and Candace have worked alongside me from the beginning of my photography business. They were always so generous to offer up farm space for mini-sessions or hosting my mini-session ministry days," Runyan wrote in post on Facebook. "It was truly a joy to work alongside them any chance I had, and my entire family loved attending their farm events. They truly were a beacon of light in our community with all that they did." The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be leading the investigation, with both agencies expected to arrive at the crash site on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the NTSB told Fox News Digital that "it is very early in the investigation and not much information is available at this time." Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to
New York Times
08-07-2025
- General
- New York Times
North Carolina Family of 4 Killed in Small Plane Crash
Four members of a family who ran a large farm in North Carolina that supplied markets and hosted local vendor festivals were killed on Monday afternoon when the small plane they were in crashed, officials said. The plane went down about 1:30 p.m. in a field in Lee County in central North Carolina near the Raleigh Executive Jetport in Sanford, the State Highway Patrol said. Travis W. Buchanan and Candace Buchanan, both 35, and their children, Aubrey, 10, and Walker, 9, were the only occupants in the airplane, it said. Three of the four occupants died at the crash site, and the fourth person was pronounced dead at a hospital, the Highway Patrol said. Mr. Buchanan was piloting the Cirrus SR22T, a small single-engine aircraft, which took off from Merritt Island, Fla., at 11 a.m. When it was several miles south of the airport in Sanford, the airport received a notification that the plane was losing radio communications, an official said. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred in a heavily wooded area. The agency expected to examine the aircraft on Tuesday and move it to a secure facility. The crash came a day after several tornadoes swept through the area, as a tropical depression dumped heavy rain and caused severe flooding in the state. By midday on Monday, preliminary information from sensors at the airport recorded clear skies and visibility of more than 10 miles, according to Tom Green, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. The family-run Buchanan Farm was a fixture of the farming community in the Sanford area, about 40 miles southwest of Raleigh. It sold Christmas trees and pumpkins in the winter and fall, and flowers for Easter in the spring. Watermelon festivals, with space for local vendors, cropped up in the summer. The farm trucked fruits and vegetables to neighborhoods in Lee County and beyond. Children were invited to play in the irrigation system on the farm, whose fields grew tobacco and soybeans. On Tuesday, the farm's Facebook page, usually replete with comments about bicolor corn and sweet strawberries, was filled instead with condolence messages. Some remembered the support the family gave to small-business owners from their farm stand in Broadway, a small town south of Sanford along the Lee and Harnett County line. One of them was Mackenzie Canady, 23, who started MeMe's Bakery in Sanford when she was 17. In 2023, the Buchanans gave her space on their shelves to sell her pound cake and cinnamon rolls. 'They brought a different spin of community to the rural area and made sure there were events going on all the time,' she said in an interview. 'They were honestly the first ones to get our community together on a regular basis.'
