3 Arizona Pilots Die In Plane Crash UPDATE

Three people traveling aboard a private aircraft were found dead near the Telluride

Airport on Sunday. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined. Ian Gregor, the spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), stated that light winds were present during takeoff with roughly one mile of visibility. The San Miguel County Sheriff, Bill Masters, also mentioned the presence of light snow. The single-engine plane was found one mile West of the airport and is believed to have crashed into a cliff ridge.

The plane issued no distress, however the last communication received from any persons on the plane was during their flight departure. Both Denver and Telluride air traffic control towers had no signs of the aircraft on their radars after roughly 1 hour and 20 minutes thus instigating the search. The plane was found less than five hours later, with no survivors, by the sheriff’s office.

According to Ian Gregor, the incident will be investigated in full by the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA. The office of the coroner will release the passenger names upon notifying the family members of the deceased. Bill Masters stated, “this is certainly not the outcome we were hoping for, it’s just a terrible, terrible tragedy.”

All three people killed in a single-engine plane crash near a Colorado ski town’s airport were pilots from Arizona, authorities said.

Killed were Sherry Anderson, 57, and Sherman Anderson, 64, of Phoenix, and Eric Durban, 48, of Mesa, Ariz., the San Miguel County sheriff’s office said in a statement Monday.

References:

1) http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/small-plane-crashes-colorado-cliff-killing-3-n31906

2) http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/debc2c51f1bd4b8cbf3849b3357a4aaa/US–Plane-Crash-3-Dead