A millionaire tech CEO was killed during the fiery crash-landing of a private plane on a Texas highway Tuesday night.
Joshua Baer, the head of tech startup Capital Factory, was one of six passengers onboard the NetJets-operated Cessna Citation Latitude aircraft that burst into flames when it hit a Laredo highway upside down shortly after 10 p.m.
The crash happened on Texas State Highway Loop 20 near the US-Mexico border after the airport tower reported a private aircraft had a mechanical issue and lost contact with the plane, KGNS News reported.
Joshua Baer — millionaire head of tech startup Capital Factory — was killed during the fiery crash-landing of a private plane on a Texas highway Tuesday night.Linkedin/Joshua Baer
Baer was one of six passengers onboard the NetJets-operated Cessna Citation Latitude aircraft that burst into flames when it hit a Laredo highway upside down shortly after 10 p.m.AP
The jet had departed San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, around 6:18 p.m. local time and was headed for Austin, Texas, before diverting to Laredo, according to FlightRadar24.
Police said the aircraft came down on the highway, struck a moving car, shut down traffic in both directions and scattered debris across multiple lanes.
Business and political leaders in Texas – where Baer was reportedly hailed as the “Godfather” of Austin’s startup scene – issued touching tributes to the late 50-year-old father-of-three Wednesday.
The president of Capital Factory, a venture capitalist firm headquartered in Austin, called him a “fearless leader, a brilliant partner and a dear friend to so many of us.”
“While we are devastated by this unimaginable loss, Josh built an incredibly resilient organization and a deeply capable team,” Bryan Chambers wrote in a statement.
“Capital Factory remains fully operational, and we are completely committed to continuing his mission of backing unstoppable founders,” he added.
The jet had departed San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, around 6:18 p.m. local time and was headed for Austin, Texas, before diverting to Laredo, according to FlightRadar24.Zayra Garza via Storyful
The CEO had also founded a nonprofit dedicated to helping disadvantaged children, the Baer Family Foundation, alongside his wife Amy.
Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn also paid homage to the state icon.
“Josh was an innovative & creative leader in Austin’s entrepreneurial culture and a stalwart supporter of growing Central Texas’ military ecosystem,” Cornyn wrote on X. “I and countless others will greatly miss him.”
Cruz praised Baer as “one of the most significant figures driving innovation and entrepreneurship across America.
“In Texas, he made our state a global leader. His impact was incalculable,” the former governor wrote.
The FBI and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the disaster, which remains unclear.
The five crash survivors, as well as a person from a passing car who was clipped by the plane and five first responders suffering from smoke inhalation were all rushed to a local hospital.
Baer seen with Apple CEO Tim Cook in a photo posted to X on Aug. 25, 2017.X/@tim_cook
Baer with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in a photo posted on Feb. 24, 2026.X/@JoshuaBaer
Baer posing with Bill Nye and others in a photo posted on Instagram on Sept. 11, 2019.Instagram/@benlamm
Devastating dashcam video from the horrific scene reportedly showed the aircraft crushing several street lights as it skidded down the road, before hitting a concrete median and snapping in half.
As it became engulfed in flames, another video showed two heroic bystanders – one armed with a sledgehammer and another with a shovel – prying the plane’s door open and shattering the cockpit glass in order to free those inside.
Witness Zayra Garza, who was driving her co-workers home when she came upon the crash, said it “looked like part of a movie.”
“What was worrying me was the fire,” she said, noting, “I was concerned that it could have just exploded at any time.”
