Father, daughter killed in Alabama plane crash

VINEMONT, Ala. - An Alabama man who died with his daughter when their small airplane crashed during takeoff was an experienced pilot, officials said Monday.

Ben Harrison, general manager at Cullman Regional Airport, told a news conference that Tyler Wesley Walker, 40, often flew out of the airport and was well-known in the area.

Walker and his 10-year-old daughter, Brooklyn Walker of Vinemont, died when a small airplane went down just off a runway on Sunday, said Cullman County Coroner Jeremy Kilpatrick.

The two-seat aircraft, a Vans RV-6, was based at the airport, Harrison said. Federal officials are investigating the crash and no cause has been released.