EL PASO COUNTY, COLO. -- Update: See additional video
We are learning more about the two men killed in a plane crash Monday in Eastern El Paso County.
The two men on the plane have been identified as 76-year-old William Boecking of Colorado Springs, and 60-year-old Daniel Saunders also of Colorado Springs.
Their death's have been ruled accidental, with the cause being multiple blunt force trauma.
The NTSB said their plane left Meadow Lake Airport Monday morning for a routine flight, and went down sometime around 10:30 a.m. after air traffic controllers lost contact with it.
Friends of William Boecking said he was a retired Air Force Major who bought his plane, a 1959 Cessna 310, back in the 1970's.
They said he kept his plane in a hangar at Meadow Lake Airport and had had his pilot's certificate for years.
Meanwhile, family members of Daniel Saunders said he also had his pilot's certificate and was a local flight instructor who spent many years as a volunteer with El Paso County Search and Rescue and with the Boy Scouts of America.
The NTSB said Boecking and Saunders were together Monday for a flight review.
"It is an every two year requirement by the FAA where pilots will go up with a certified flight instructor to perform various maneuvers to be reminded of how to operate the airplane," Jennifer Rodi, an Air Safety Investigator with the NTSB said.
Rodi said the NTSB finished their initial investigation at the crash site Tuesday evening, and removed the plane from the field.
She said even though it has only been a little over 24 hours since the accident, they have already learned a lot about what might have happened.
"We did note that there was a lack of damage to the propeller blades, which is indicative of the engines not producing power at the time of the accident," Rodi said.
From here, Rodi said the plane will be taken to a hangar in Greeley for further examination and testing.
She said the NTSB hopes to have a preliminary report out on the crash by the end of September.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Update:
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office released the identities of the two men killed in a plane crash south of Calhan Monday. One is 76-year-old William Boecking and the other is 60-year-old Daniel Saunders.
The El Paso County Coroner's Office ruled the cause of death accidental.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Update:
Two people have been killed in a plane crash in eastern El Paso County.
The crash happened in the middle of an open field behind a home located in the 30000 block of Washington Road just east of Calhan Highway.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the plane left Meadow Lake Airport Monday morning for a routine flight. It said air traffic controllers lost contact with the pilot and his passenger around 10:30 a.m. A short time later their worst fears were confirmed when a resident in the area called in the crash.
"I was just in the house picking up, and it sounded like someone shut a car door," Scott Bagley said.
Bagley lives next door to where the plane crashed. He said he looked outside to see what was going on, but did not see any smoke or flames. He said it was not until deputies arrived that he knew something was wrong.
Officials with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said the plane landed only about 400 yards away from Bagley's neighbor's house.
"Have not heard anything pertaining to a distress call as of yet, there was no fire when we got on scene, and when the homeowner reported it there was no fire, so not a lot of fuel around the plane," Lt. Lari Sevene with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said.
Sevene said that does not necessarily mean the plane ran out of gas.
By Monday afternoon, officials with the NTSB out of Denver were on scene investigating the crash, and they said it could take up to eight months to determine the official cause.
"A recovery team will be dispatched from Northern Colorado and will be on scene tomorrow to begin recovery of the aircraft, so we can then take it to a hanger and conduct further examination and testing if that is deemed necessary," Jennifer Rodi, Air Safety Investigator with the NTSB, said.
Rodi said the NTSB is bringing in investigators from around the country. She said they will be assisted by the Federal Aviation Administration as well as the plane's manufacturers.
Meanwhile, residents in the area said the whole event has left them a little uneasy.
"It still kind of makes you wonder, it just is not that far away from their barn and their house," Bagley said.
The NTSB did confirm the plane is a Cessna 310 Charlie, which is registered to a William D. Boecking of Colorado Springs, although at this time it is unknown if he was on the plane when it crashed.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Original Story
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office has confirmed two men died after a plane crashed in an open field in the 30000 block of Washington Rd. near Calhan, Colo. around noon Monday.
Officials said a small yellow Cessna 310 Charlie crashed, killing both men on scene.
The plane took off from Meadow Lake Airport in Colorado Springs Monday morning, but the airport lost contact with the plane around 10:29 a.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board is heading the investigation, which it said could take 8-10 months. The board does not have a probable cause at this time.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM