Capital Factory founder Joshua Baer was killed in a plane crash on his way back to Austin from a vacation destination in Mexico late Tuesday night.
The news was first reported by the Austin American-Statesman. Tech leaders and politicians, including Congressman John Carter, expressed condolences in posts on social media. "He was a disruptor, a brilliant innovator, and had immense enthusiasm for helping others succeed," Carter said.
The private plane crash happened on Loop 20 in Laredo, a few miles south of the city's airport. Video posted by the Laredo Police Department shows firefighters spraying the plane, which came to rest on a highway barrier after hitting a car.
Police received a call about the crash right before 10 p.m. Tuesday from the airport tower.
Baer founded Capital Factory, a tech investment company based in Austin, in 2009. Baer is the entrepreneur in residence for the Department of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin, according to his UT bio page, which says he lives in Austin with his wife and three children.
Baer was also a speaker at the KUT Festival in May on a panel about AI in Austin.
A business jet with six people on board crashed on a highway in Laredo, Texas, and caught fire Tuesday night, authorities said, killing one person and causing chaos as people left their vehicles to frantically try to smash the cockpit window and free those inside. pic.twitter.com/NxwKuoLo7w
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 17, 2026
Six people were inside the plane, said investigator Jose Baeza with LPD at a news conference posted online. They were taken out by first responders, but Baer did not survive.
The five others on the plane, as well as the driver of the car that was hit on the highway, were taken to local hospitals and are in stable condition, said Gilberto Sanchez, the director of Laredo International Airport.
Five officers were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and the plane crash caused road closures in the area.
"LRD commends the swift response of the Laredo Police Department, Laredo Fire Department, area first responders, and the bystanders who acted without hesitation to assist those aboard the aircraft," Sanchez wrote in an email to KUT News. "Their efforts under extremely hazardous conditions were instrumental in the rescue of five lives. "
The FBI and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident, according to Baeza.
Plane went down while experiencing 'mechanical difficulties'
The plane was flying from Los Cabos, Mexico, to Austin when it experienced "mechanical difficulties," Sanchez said.
The jet was at about 43,000 feet in the air before it began descending over an hour into its flight. Over the next 30 minutes, the plane lost speed and altitude until it ultimately crashed several miles short of the airfield, according to information from FlightAware and Sanchez.
The flight was operated by NetJets, a company that leases private planes.
"Our immediate concern is for the well-being of our Crewmembers, our passengers, and their families during this time," Netjets wrote in an email. "We are activating our crisis response and family support teams to support those affected and their loved ones, and we are deploying a team of experts to the site of the accident."
The plane, a Cessna 680A, was manufactured in 2016, according to FAA records. Cessna describes the aircraft, also known as the Latitude, as the world's best-selling midsized business jet. The plane can hold up to nine passengers.
A search of NTSB records for the same model of jet showed two prior accident records involving other Cessna 680As, but neither involved deaths or circumstances obviously similar to Tuesday's crash.
Flight data from FlightAware shows the plane had taken multiple flights that day. The jet took off in Denver and flew to Scottsdale, Arizona; Ensenada, Mexico; and Los Cabos before crashing in Laredo.
The NTSB will likely contact the manufacturer of the plane, according to Robert Clifford, the founder of Clifford Law Offices, which focuses on aviation cases. The plane, which had a Pratt & Whitney Canada engine, was manufactured by Textron Aviation, FAA data shows.
"If something happened at altitude that caused them to immediately seek an alternative airport to land — yes, there could be some catastrophic issue which would infer that there would be some kind of part on the aircraft that failed," Clifford said. "That's highly unusual."
Austin community and tech leaders react to Baer's death
"Austin would not be the tech hub it is today without Josh Baer," said former Austin City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly, who met Baer while working on tech policy as a council member. "His vision for Austin to be a place that supported entrepreneurs always impressed me."
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said, "The world lost a genius last night. I lost a cherished friend."
Greenblatt, in a post on social media, described Baer as "one of the most passionate, thoughtful and visionary people I've ever known."
This is a developing story.
KUT's Andy Jechow contributed to this story.
Copyright 2026 KUT News
