Veteran US news anchor Nancy Parker. Photo / Supplied
Veteran US news anchor Nancy Parker. Photo / Supplied
A US news anchor has died on the job while filming a segment on a stunt pilot when the plane she was in crash landed.
Nancy Parker was working on a story for Fox affiliate TV station WVUE when the stunt plane she was filming in crashed near Lakefront Airport,New Orleans on Friday.
A fire broke out shortly after the crash and 53-year-old was killed along with pilot, Franklin J.P. Augustus.
Ms Parker was filming a piece about Mr Augustus who was honouring a group of pioneering World War II-era African-American pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
The beloved journalist worked at the station for 27 years and leaves behind a husband and three children.
"Today we mourn the loss of our longtime colleague and friend Nancy Parker," the station said in a statement to WDSU.
"Details have not been released by authorities, but we can confirm she passed away in a plane crash while covering a story at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport."
WVUE Vice President and General Manager, Tim Ingram, said Ms Parker touched "countless lives" through her work.
"Nancy was a part of the Fox8 family for the last 23 years. She put her heart and soul into her work, covering thousands of stories and touching countless lives," Mr Ingram said.
"She made a difference in the lives of those she reported on. She will be sorely missed, and her absence creates a void that cannot be filled."
Veteran US news anchor Nancy Parker died in a plane crash in New Orleans while working on a story. Photo / Supplied
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane crashed under unknown circumstances and was a 1983 Pitts S-2B aircraft.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading an investigation into the crash.
Ms Parker's husband, Glynn Boyd, shared an emotional tribute to his wife on Facebook.
"My heart is shattered. The dearest and most wonderful person in my life is gone. Our Nancy was an amazing human being," he wrote.
"I was so proud of her; first as an awesome mother of our three children, just incredible. She loved them so much. This is why this is so difficult to comprehend. And she was a true professional, a master of her craft.
"No man, but God could've taken Nancy from my arms. I loved her and she loved me. We were best friends."
Mr Boyd said he would "trade places with her right now" given the opportunity.
"She was our road map, our compass, our guiding light," he wrote.
He thanked everyone for the outpouring of support and requested privacy while the family mourns the loss of Ms Parker.
This has been one of the hardest newscasts ever to get through. My morning colleague and LEGENDARY journalist Nancy Parker will be missed beyond belief by her @FOX8NOLA family, her husband and three children, and the thousands of New Orleanians and beyond that adored her. pic.twitter.com/9iwrzwu5Hf
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell honoured Ms Parker for her work and the role she played in the community.
"For more than two decades, Nancy Parker sat opposite John Snell as the FOX8 co-anchor and gave us the news of the day," Mayor Cantrell said in a statement.
"She told it to us straight, but with a combination of professionalism, intelligence, warmth and grace we may never experience again. New Orleans did not just lose a five-time Emmy-winning journalist, or a familiar, comforting face on our TV screens. We lost a loving mother of three, a beautiful human being, and an invaluable member of our community."
He also honoured Mr Augustus, saying: "He never forgot the magic he felt as a youth about flying. He spent countless hours introducing flying to area youth through the Young Eagles program and Civil Air Patrol."
