PEARLAND, Texas -- Grief counselors helped students in Pearland after two brothers died in a plane crash along with their grandfather, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Dylan Lord was a seventh-grader at Miller Junior High and his brother, Brendon, was a sixth-grader at Rogers Middle School.

"They were both very well-loved, popular students," Pearland Independent School District spokeswoman Renea Ivey-Sims said. "They're going to be missed here."

The boys and their grandfather, Carlos McKinney, 60, were killed when the single-engine plane McKinney was piloting malfunctioned at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

They were flying from Kerrville to Pearland when the plane went down shortly after take off.

The boys' mother said her sons were on their way home after a weekend visit with their father and grandparents in Kerrville.

"Carlos McKinney was the best grandfather," Kimberly Elwood said. "He loved them. He was good to them. He always made sure it was as safe as could be when he flew out."

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the crash. Investigators said the plane somehow malfunctioned and rainy weather may have been a factor.

"When it went down, the plane was full of gasoline," Elwood said. "I guess when they hit, the impact, the plane blew up. I hope that they felt no pain."

Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for the FAA, said the plane was at about 9,000 feet when controllers lost radar contact.

"You never know what's going to happen," Elwood said. "Don't complain about things. Every day you're lucky to have with your family, your friends. Cherish that every day."

Elwood said the boys and McKinney had made the same kind of trip many times before their deaths.