Jury Awards $12.1 Million to Houston Families of Those Killed in 2019 Kerrville Plane Crash
Dec. 6—A jury in a Harris County court on Tuesday awarded more than $12 million to the relatives of three prominent Houstonians killed in 2019 during a small plane crash in Kerrville while looking at ranch property, court records show.
The wrongful death suits in probate court accused the company who employed pilot Jeffrey Weiss, who also died in the wreck, of being financially responsible following the crash. Passengers Marc Tellepsen, Mark Scioneaux and Reagan Miller were among those killed after the twin-engine Beechcraft BE58 departed West Houston Airport in Katy and crashed about two hours later in Hill Country ranch land about 10 miles short of their destination.
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Bystanders in a nearby subdivision saw the aircraft fall from the clouds and nose dive to the ground.
In the three years since the lawsuits' filing, it was determined that Weiss, an experienced, philanthropist pilot with 5,000 flight hours, miscalculated the fuel needed to fly from Katy to the Kerrville-area airport, civil lawyer Richard Mithoff said.
"Once he got into trouble and realized he was losing engine power, he failed to take steps that he could have taken to land the plane," Mithoff said.
The passenger list also included Stuart and Angela Kensinger, clients of Miller's architecture business, who were not involved in the litigation.
Tellepsen and Scioneaux founded Tellepsen Landscaping. Mithoff represented Scioneaux's husband, Stanton Welch, the artistic director of the Houston Ballet, and Jennifer Tellepsen, Tellepsen's widow.
Weiss, a finance adviser for Raymond James & Associates, volunteered to fly the Kensingers and their team of prospective landscapers and architects on his aircraft, likely as a networking opportunity, Mithoff said. The Kensingers had a nearby ranch and wanted Tellepsen, Scioneaux and Miller to view the property from above for future improvements.
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The jury sided with Mithoff's contention that Weiss was flying the aircraft as a representative of the finance company and that his negligence caused the wreck, he continued.
The jury awarded Welch about $2.8 million, $5.8 million to Tellepsen's family and about $3.5 million to Miller's family, court records show.
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