2 Dead, 4 Hurt In Plane Crash In Hayden
DENVER (AP) - A pilot and a passenger from Texas were killed and four of the passenger's family members were injured when a small plane crashed in a Colorado snowstorm, officials said Monday.
The family was on its way to Steamboat Ski Resort, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported.
The twin-engine Cessna 414A crashed Sunday while approaching Yampa Valley Regional Airport about 125 miles northwest of Denver.
Passenger Gabbi Humpal, 44, of Corpus Christi, Texas, and pilot Hans Vandervlugt, 75, of Refugio, Texas, died in the crash, Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg said.
Humpal's 10-year-old daughter, Sarah, suffered critical injuries and was flown to a Denver hospital, he said.
Humpal's husband and two sons suffered broken bones and bruises and their injuries weren't considered life-threatening, Ryg said. They were identified as 47-year-old Scott Humpal, 18-year-old Tad and 13-year-old Dillon, all from Corpus Christi.
No other details were released.
Scott Humpal owns Humpal Physical Therapy, which has clinics in the Corpus Christi area. The family was on its way to Steamboat Ski Resort about 25 miles east of the airport, Ken Weir, the company's human resources manager and marketing director, told the newspaper.
"The people I'm talking to are really distraught," Weir said.
He didn't immediately return telephone messages from The Associated Press.
Scott Humpal's Facebook page spelled the names of his wife and daughter as Gaby and Sara. The discrepancy could not immediately be resolved.
Vandervlugt had been a pilot since he was 14 and operated Vanair Aviation Services, said his wife, Ruth Vandervlugt.
The Steamboat Today newspaper reported the plane came to a rest in knee-deep snow and airport crews plowed a path to the wreckage for emergency responders.
The airport was closed to incoming traffic until Monday morning.
The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating.
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