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Plane crash kills pilot
A cargo plane crashed near the Rueter-Hess Reservoir construction site southwest of Parker Aug. 4, claiming the life of the pilot.
By Chris MichlewiczStaff Writer
A cargo plane crashed near the Rueter-Hess Reservoir construction site southwest of Parker Aug. 4, claiming the life of the pilot.
Samuel L. Hunter, 59, of Magna, Utah, was the only person aboard the plane and there were no injuries on the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board has taken over the investigation into what caused the Mitsubishi MU-2 cargo plane to crash. Adverse weather conditions, including heavy rain, were present when the plane went down.
The Parker Fire Protection District received a call just after 2 a.m. from a Douglas County Sheriff's Office dispatcher, who said that the Centennial Municipal Airport control tower lost contact with the twin-engine plane, said Becky O'Guin, public information officer for Parker fire.
An emergency beacon on the plane helped lead a Denver police helicopter to the crash site, which is located in rugged terrain about a mile west of the Rueter-Hess Reservoir construction site. The crash site can only be accessed by all-terrain vehicles and a treaded Snowcat was used to extricate Hunter's body.
The Douglas County Search and Rescue team found the plane wreckage in the heavy rain and darkness four hours after the crash, said Doug Voss, project manager for Weaver Construction, a company contracted to build the reservoir. The team picked up the signal from the emergency beacon while searching in the fog.
"There were skid marks on the grass before it bounced and rolled end over end. It looked like it nosed into the ground," said Voss, who drove the first response team to the crash site. "The fuselage and tail section were gone and the engine was about 100 feet in front of the wreckage."
The remains of the plane were removed by helicopter Monday, but it is unclear where they were taken for further analysis.
The plane hit the top of an outcropping and landed at the bottom of a ravine.
The NTSB said Hunter was likely using his flight instruments to navigate his way to the airport because of low visibility in the area.
The safety board will release a preliminary report on the crash in the next few days. The full investigation is expected to take between six and nine months.
Voss said the cargo plane crashed into a "major archaeological site" that was to be excavated for historical artifacts later this summer. A Native American tribal representative is present to make sure the historical value of the site is not compromised, he said.
In the last year, archaeologists have uncovered 12 dwellings that are estimated to be as much as 5,000 years old. Artifacts, including a figurine, pottery and a stone knife, have been found in many areas of the reservoir construction site. It is not yet known how the crash will affect the planned dig.
Cocha Heyden, public information officer for the sheriff's office, said the plane was owned by Flight Line, Inc., a company based out of Watkins, Colorado. The company flies five times a week between Centennial Airport and Salt Lake City carrying cancelled checks.
A Mitsubishi MU-2 owned by the same company crashed near Centennial Airport last December. Pilot Paul Krysiak, 28, of Aurora and co-pilot James Presba, 25, of Lone Tree were killed in the crash. Krysiak and Presba were the only people on board and no one on the ground was injured.
Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo is calling for the grounding of all Mitsubishi MU-2 aircraft, and sent a request to the Federal Aviation Administration do so June 23. Members of a congressional delegation also asked that an investigation be launched into the "air-worthiness" of the plane.
Contact Chris Michlewicz at cmichlewicz@ccnewspapers.net
Samuel L. Hunter, 59, of Magna, Utah, was the only person aboard the plane and there were no injuries on the ground. The National Transportation Safety Board has taken over the investigation into what caused the Mitsubishi MU-2 cargo plane to crash. Adverse weather conditions, including heavy rain, were present when the plane went down.
The Parker Fire Protection District received a call just after 2 a.m. from a Douglas County Sheriff's Office dispatcher, who said that the Centennial Municipal Airport control tower lost contact with the twin-engine plane, said Becky O'Guin, public information officer for Parker fire.
An emergency beacon on the plane helped lead a Denver police helicopter to the crash site, which is located in rugged terrain about a mile west of the Rueter-Hess Reservoir construction site. The crash site can only be accessed by all-terrain vehicles and a treaded Snowcat was used to extricate Hunter's body.
The Douglas County Search and Rescue team found the plane wreckage in the heavy rain and darkness four hours after the crash, said Doug Voss, project manager for Weaver Construction, a company contracted to build the reservoir. The team picked up the signal from the emergency beacon while searching in the fog.
"There were skid marks on the grass before it bounced and rolled end over end. It looked like it nosed into the ground," said Voss, who drove the first response team to the crash site. "The fuselage and tail section were gone and the engine was about 100 feet in front of the wreckage."
The remains of the plane were removed by helicopter Monday, but it is unclear where they were taken for further analysis.
The plane hit the top of an outcropping and landed at the bottom of a ravine.
The NTSB said Hunter was likely using his flight instruments to navigate his way to the airport because of low visibility in the area.
The safety board will release a preliminary report on the crash in the next few days. The full investigation is expected to take between six and nine months.
Voss said the cargo plane crashed into a "major archaeological site" that was to be excavated for historical artifacts later this summer. A Native American tribal representative is present to make sure the historical value of the site is not compromised, he said.
In the last year, archaeologists have uncovered 12 dwellings that are estimated to be as much as 5,000 years old. Artifacts, including a figurine, pottery and a stone knife, have been found in many areas of the reservoir construction site. It is not yet known how the crash will affect the planned dig.
Cocha Heyden, public information officer for the sheriff's office, said the plane was owned by Flight Line, Inc., a company based out of Watkins, Colorado. The company flies five times a week between Centennial Airport and Salt Lake City carrying cancelled checks.
A Mitsubishi MU-2 owned by the same company crashed near Centennial Airport last December. Pilot Paul Krysiak, 28, of Aurora and co-pilot James Presba, 25, of Lone Tree were killed in the crash. Krysiak and Presba were the only people on board and no one on the ground was injured.
Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo is calling for the grounding of all Mitsubishi MU-2 aircraft, and sent a request to the Federal Aviation Administration do so June 23. Members of a congressional delegation also asked that an investigation be launched into the "air-worthiness" of the plane.
Contact Chris Michlewicz at cmichlewicz@ccnewspapers.net
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