Nancy Parker, WVUE news anchor, was victim in fatal plane crash, station confirms
NEW ORLEANS — Longtime FOX8 Anchor Nancy Parker was one of two people killed when a plane went down in New Orleans East Friday afternoon.
Fox 8 WVUE confirms that Nancy Parked died in a plane crash while reporting in New Orleans East on Friday, Aug. 16.
The second person who died in the crash has not been identified as Franklin J.P. Augustus, according to nola.com
Nancy has been a fixture in New Orleans news for more than 20 years, anchoring FOX 8’s evening news casts for more than a decade before moving to the morning show.
FOX 8 released the following statement Friday evening:
“Nancy was a part of the FOX 8 family for the last 23 years, she put her heart and soul into her work, covering thousands of stories and touching countless lives. She made a difference in the lives of those she reported on. She will be sorely missed, and her absence creates a void that cannot be filled.”
“Nancy was absolutely a joy to work with each and every day”, said FOX 8 Vice President and General Manager Tim Ingram. “Today we lost a wonderful journalist and remarkable friend, the New Orleans television community lost a true treasure, but beyond that, her family lost a wife, a mother and daughter. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
WWL-TV President and General Manager Tod Smith released the following statement after learning of Parker’s passing.
“Our heartfelt and sincere condolences go out to the family of Nancy Parker and the members of her FOX 8 family. Many of us have known Nancy as a professional but even more importantly as the loving mother, friend and inspiration she was to us all,”
RELATED: Nancy Parker, known for covering New Orleans hard news with heart, dies in plane crash
The crash was reported near Jourdan Road and Morrison Road, just south of the New Orleans Lakefront Airport, around 3:20 p.m.
New Orleans officials identified the vehicle as a small, two-seater aerobatic plane.
RELATED: Plane crash kills 2 in New Orleans East
FAA inspectors in Baton Rouge and federal NTSB inspectors from Denver are en route to investigate the crash and determine an official cause of the incident, officials said. The federal inspectors were scheduled to arrive to New Orleans Saturday morning
A city official called the crash “quite catastrophic” and said a fire engulfed the plane after it hit the ground. First responders attempted to rescue the victims but were inhibited by the fire, the official said.