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Pilot Believed To Be Only Victim Of Northwest Colorado Crash

MEEKER, Colo. (AP) - Authorities believe the pilot was the only person killed when a small plane crashed in northwestern Colorado last week.

The Rio Blanco County Sheriff's Office preliminarily identified the pilot Monday as 62-year-old William Ray Hiler of Tabernash, Colorado.

William Ray Hiler
William Ray Hiler (credit: Linkedin)

His single-engine Bonanza 35 crashed in a remote area about 15 miles west of Meeker, Colorado Thursday evening while flying from Utah to Granby, Colorado. The sheriff's office says someone saw Hiler fueling his plane in Provo and didn't see anyone else with him.

Plane Crash Rio Blanco MAP
(credit: CBS)

The plane crashed after a witness reported hearing the plane rev its engines followed by an explosion. The plane disappeared from radar and searchers found the wreckage using the coordinates of its last known location.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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