The body of a man presumed to be the pilot of the small plane that crashed into Inks Lake on Wednesday was found in the water near the shore at Inks Lake State Park about 8 a.m. Saturday, LCRA officials announced.

Witnesses at Inks Lake State Park, about 12 miles west of Burnet, reported seeing Jim Eachus, 61, of Buchanan Dam, surface immediately after the crash, struggle to stay afloat and sink back into the murky lake water at about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Eachus took flight Wednesday morning from Burnet Municipal Airport in his homebuilt aircraft—classified by the Federal Aviation Administration as “experimental.” He apparently flew to the lake and then later emptied water from his plane’s pontoons at the state park, according to a DPS spokesperson and an airport flight trainer.

Eachus returned to the lake for takeoff near the shores of Camp Longhorn,managed to fly his yellow aircraft approximately 40 feet above the water and then disaster struck. The plane lost elevation and spun out of control after its left wing dug into the water, witnesses said.

“This is an exceedingly rare event in general aviation,” said Ken Wittekiend, owner of ProMark Aviation and Eachus’ former flight instructor. “It is so unusual for something like this to occur.”

Eachus earned his private pilots certificate several years ago under Wittekiend’s training at the Burnet airport, though Wittekiend said he had not trained Eachus to fly the experimental aircraft he was flying Wednesday.

“Jim was a fine student, did a great job, was very conscientious, worked hard and took it seriously,” Wittekiend said. “He was passionate about flying and flew regularly, which is one thing that helps pilots stay safe.”

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