A 71-year-old Louisiana pilot was killed after a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza crashed Thursday afternoon in marshland north of Sea Rim State Park near Sabine Pass, Texas.
Authorities identified the pilot as Carl Krielow of Louisiana. His body was recovered Friday morning near Knight Lake, just north of State Highway 87, Jefferson County Justice of the Peace Ben Collins Sr. said.
Krielow was flying a Bonanza based in Jennings, Louisiana. According to ADS-B data, the aircraft departed Jennings at 1:52 p.m. CST bound for Galveston Scholes International Airport and crashed at around 3:00 p.m. after crossing from Louisiana into Texas. Tracking data showed the airplane maintaining about 6,000 feet before a rapid increase in speed and drop in altitude between Salt Lake and Knight Lake.
NTSB investigating Thursday's crash of a Beech BE-36 airplane near Port Arthur, Texas.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) January 9, 2026
Search and recovery operations involved the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Port Arthur Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard. Chief Donta Miller of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said the search for the crash was complicated by rough marsh terrain, with the Coast Guard ultimately locating the wreckage and providing coordinates to responders.
The NTSB said Friday that it is investing the crash.
