UPDATE: Krielow’s plane spiraled to ground during rain shower, report says

Published 4:12 pm Friday, January 30, 2026

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report on the Jan. 8 plane crash in southeast Texas that killed prominent Southwest Louisiana businessman Carl J. Krielow.

Krielow, 71, of Roanoke died when his single-engine private aircraft crashed in the marshland north of Sea Rim State Park near Sabine Pass, Texas. Krielow had more than 35 years of experience in the construction, real estate, and agricultural industries across Southwest Louisiana. He managed commercial real estate properties and agricultural operations and was the owner of KAS Properties, a construction company in Jennings. He was also a former member of the Port of Lake Charles Board of Commissioners and a member of both the Louisiana Independent Rice Producers Association and the U.S. Rice Producers Association.

While the preliminary report details the circumstances of the flight, it does not indicate a probable cause. A final report, which typically includes a probable cause, can take a year or more to complete.

According to the initial investigation, Krielow’s Beechcraft A36 Bonanza entered a rain shower and spiraled to the ground. The aircraft was substantially damaged upon impact.

The flight departed Jennings Airport at 3:51 p.m. en right to Scholes International Airport in Galveston, Texas, at an altitude of 6,000 feet. The pilot had filed an instrument flight rules flight plan and was in radio communications with Houston Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON).

At 4:30 p.m., Krielow acknowledged clearance to descend to 4,000 feet.

Radar tracking shows that shortly after, the aircraft entered a rain shower and began a descending right turn before radar contact was lost. Preliminary weather data confirmed the presence of rain showers along the flight path at the time of the descent.

The U.S. Coast Guard located the wreckage in a marsh between Salt Lake and Knight Lake following a brief search. Krielow’s body was not recovered until the following day.

The debris field, consisting of four main sections, was distributed over an area about 360-feet long and 160-feet wide. The propeller, engine, cowling and cockpit instrumentation were found submerged in the marshy terrain. Investigators noted no evidence of fire, and the flaps appeared to be in the retracted position.