Colorado plane crash possibly kills 4
December 5, 2011, 05:24 pm
A small plane recently crashed into the southwest Colorado mountains, possibly killing all four people on board. The single-engine plane was flying from Durango to Aspen when it crashed about 1.5 miles north of Silverton, Colorado.
About 40 minutes after the Socata TB-21 left the airport in Durango, an emergency beacon signal was detected near Silverton. Search crews were sent into the general area of the emergency signal, but bad weather prevented teams from scouring the mountains for a prolonged period of time. Authorities said temperatures in Silverton dropped to 4 degrees during the search, as eight to 10 inches of snow fell to the ground near the scene after the crash occurred, The Associated Press reported.
Kristina Maxfield, manager of the San Juan County Emergency team, told the source that the plane had crashed into a heavily forested area about 11,000 feet above sea level in the Colorado mountains. When search team members finally reached the scene of the crash, two dead bodies were found, but no survivors. The plane, however, was reportedly holding four passengers when it left the Durango airport.
According to Maxfield, debris from the crash was scattered up to 1.25 miles away from the site of the accident, but the cause of the crash remains unknown. While two bodies are still missing from the site, authorities believe they are likely dead as they would have to have survived a night of sleeping in freezing temperatures and significant snowfall on the mountain. But federal officials continue to search for the other two passengers despite continued snowfall and limited visibility on the mountain.
NBC affiliate KTAL, which serves the Arkansas-Texas region, reported the Federal Aviation Administration has identified the two bodies from the crash as 62-year-old David Hollenshead and 58-year-old Brenda Fore, with the airplane belonging to Patricia Dale Edwards, wife of Hollensdead.
The Associated Press reported this was the second fatal plane crash near Silverton in 2011. In July, a pilot and passenger both died in a small plane crash, whose cause has yet to be determined by authorities. To protect against unknown accidents or crashes, pilots should invest in pilot insurance before taking off.
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