Veteran New Orleans TV Anchor Dies Covering Story In Stunt Plane

NEW ORLEANS, LA — Nancy Parker, a veteran New Orleans television news anchor, was killed in a plane crash while shooting a story Friday afternoon, according to FOX 8, the television station where she worked.

“Nancy was absolutely a joy to work with each and every day,” FOX 8 Vice President and General Manager Tim Ingram said in a statement. “Today we lost a wonderful journalist and remarkable friend, the New Orleans television community lost a true treasure, but beyond that, her family lost a wife, a mother and daughter. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

Parker worked at the television station for 23 years. According to FOX 8, Parker, 53, was shooting a story in a stunt plane with a pilot who was a member of a Louisiana group that honored the Tuskegee Airmen.

The pilot, identified by FOX 8 as Franklin J.P. Augustus, was also killed in the crash. The plane crashed around 3 p.m. near the New Orleans Lakefront Airport, according to city officials.

Ingram said Parker put her “heart and soul” into her work.

“She made a difference in the lives of those she reported on,” the statement from Ingram read. “She will be sorely missed, and her absence creates a void that cannot be filled.”

Many offered condolences after Parker’s death, including New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.

“On behalf of my late husband Tom, to the family of WVUE-FOX 8, we offer our deepest sympathy to the tragic loss of Nancy Parker,” Benson said in a statement.

“Nancy was an outstanding, Emmy Award winning news anchor, who fostered great trust with both those who she covered and with her viewers in the New Orleans area. Not only was she a leader in local television, she was a devoted wife to her husband Glynn and mother to their three beautiful children; Parker, Piper, and Pierce. She was a dear friend and a frequent guest at local philanthropic lunches and at our family farm in Kentucky. She will be sadly missed. My thoughts and prayers go out to Nancy’s family.”

Edwards issued the following statement via Twitter:

“An Emmy-winning reporter, cancer advocate and author, Nancy used her platform to tell stories that mattered to the people of our state. Please join your prayers to mine and Donna’s for Nancy’s husband and three children as they come to terms with this shocking loss.”

The New Orleans Police Department said Parker was “a true lover of New Orleans.”

Parker anchored the 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. news broadcasts for FOX 8. A native of Alabama, Parker’s first reporting job was at a local radio station when she was a senior in high school, according to bio provided by FOX 8. She briefly worked in Washington D.C. before working at local TV stations in Georgia and Alabama. She moved to New Orleans in 1990, first working in Baton Rouge and joined FOX 8 in 1996.