Stunt Plane Crash Kills Beloved NOLA Anchor

An Emmy-winning anchor who was a beloved fixture on New Orleans television screens for more than two decades died Friday in a stunt plane crash that also killed the pilot. Nancy Parker, 53, was doing a story for WVUE on pilot Franklin Augustus when the pair crashed in a field near New Orlean Lakefront Airport, reports NBC News. The cause of the crash is being investigated, but witnesses said that the plane appeared to have engine trouble and that the nose was pointed down when it crashed. CNN, the parent company of WVUE, reports that Augustus radioed the tower just before the crash to say he was having unspecified mechanical problems. Reactions to Parker's death ranged from co-workers to political and sports luminaries in the Big Easy:

• Mayor LaToya Cantrell: "New Orleans did not just lose a five-time Emmy-winning journalist, or a familiar, comforting face on our TV screens. We lost a mother of three, a beautiful human being, and an invaluable member of our community."
• Drew Brees: "My heart goes out to the family of Nancy Parker, a beloved reporter & news anchor in New Orleans, wife and mother of three. Thoughts and prayers to all of you during this time."
• WVUE VP Tim Ingram: "Nancy ... 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."

(More New Orleans stories.)