Thursday, December 12, 2013

Private Plane From Mesa County Crashed On Grand Mesa

Three Souls On Board Plane, Crashed On Grand Mesa

Mesa County, Colo. -- The Mesa County Coroner is on the scene of the single engine airplane that is believed to have crashed in the afternoon of December 12, 2013. The cause of the crash remains unknown. The Federal Aviation Administration officials are enroute to Mesa County, from Salt Lake City, Utah, to investigate this incident. The FAA representative(s) is anticipated to arrive in the early afternoon today.

The three male adults on board the crashed airplane have been accounted for and their family members have been notified. The families and victims are local residents of Mesa County. At this time, it will be the Mesa County Coroner's responsibility to release the identity of the crash victims, as well as cause and manner of death. 

Further updates will be provided as they become available. However, at this stage in the investigation, we anticipate few additional details to be released. We also do not anticipate releasing any agency photos of the crash site.

For updates on emergency incidents in #MesaCounty, follow us on Twitter @SheriffMesaColo using #GVCopBeat.
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Previously Released on December 13, 2013, at 4 a.m.

Crash Site Located By Civil Air Patrol, No Survivors

Mesa County, Colo.-- Civil Air Patrol aircraft spotted a crashed airplane from the air about 11:40 p.m. (the previous time here was 9:30 p.m., but with updated dispatch notes we have made this time more accurate) in the Porter Creek area of the Grand Mesa, a remote location East of Collbran, Colo. The crash site is about 5 miles from the nearest road. Mesa County Search and Rescue Snow Skipper Team responded immediately to the scene and confirmed it was the missing plane and it had crashed. The airplane was a Piper single engine prop plane and the cause of the crash has not been determined.

Unfortunately, all three occupants were found deceased with the airplane. The three victims are all adults. Recovery efforts are ongoing.
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Previously Released on December 12, 2013, at 9 p.m.

Civil Air Patrol Searching For Possible Missing Airplane Beacon

Mesa County, Colo.-- Rural Area deputies received notification from the manager of the Mesa Mack Airport this evening that a plane was overdue on it's scheduled return to that airport today. The missing plane left the Mesa Mack Airport with a pilot and two passengers on board. They informed the Airport Manager they would be looking for livestock on the Grand Mesa, but their route and destination are unknown.

Civil Air Patrol--The United State Air Force Auxiliary, has launched an aircraft in the area in an attempt to locate the missing plane and/or pick-up a distress beacon possibly activated by the missing plane if it were in an emergency situation. The Civil Air Patrol has primary responsibly for locating aircraft when an ELT beacon is activated or there is an emergency response needed for an aircraft. According to the website, www.aopa.org, ELT stands for Emergency Locator Transmitter carried aboard aircraft in the event of an accident. These devices are designed to transmit a distress signal in an emergency situation. It was mandated by Congress in 1973, for all general aviation aircraft in the United States to carry ELTs after two U.S. Congressmen were in a plane crash in Alaska in 1972, and their crash site has never been located. 

In addition to the Civil Air Patrol, deputies have contacted authorities with The High-Altitude Army National Guard, Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colo. for additional resources in the air tonight to try and locate this missing plane. The Mesa County Search and Rescue Control, Inc.--Snow Skippers Team is currently on standby, and ready to respond as needed to any location in Mesa County.

At this time, deputies have not received any missing person reports nor has local air traffic control received any indication that this plane has in fact experienced an emergency situation. Updates regarding this incident will be posted as they become available.
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