Wreckage Of Small Plane Bound For Fort Collins Found In Wyoming
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4)- The wreckage of a small plane bound for Fort Collins has been found in Wyoming. The wreckage was found around 2:30 p.m. Thursday in snow covered terrain north of Rocky Springs by a ground search team from the Sheriff's office.
"It's in a hellish place, said Detective Dick Blush with the local sheriff's office in Rock Springs.
"There were reports of severe weather in the area during the past 24 hours,' says Lt Colonel Mike Daniels with the Colorado Civil Air Patrol.
There apparently are no survivors.
Sweetwater County has released the names of the two men killed in a small plane crash in Wyoming.
The pilot was Gilmer Mickey, of Englewood, and the passenger was Bob Albert, of Fort Collins.
Mickey is the owner of the aircraft according to on-line plane registration records. The registration shows his address as Englewood, Colorado.
The single engine plane was built 38 years ago. It was a 1973 Bellanca, model 17-30A. The plane was based at Centennial Airport in Arapahoe County.
The plane departed Wenz Field in Pinedale Wyoming Wednesday.
There's confusion tonight among investigating agencies about exactly where the ill fated Bellanca was headed when it crashed north of Rock Springs Wyoming.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it was destined to the Denver Metro Area.
"Our information is preliminary, but we're told Centennial," said Allen Kenitzer, an FAA Public Affairs Officer based in Seattle.
Centennial Airport is on the southern side of the Denver Metro Area.
But earlier Thursday, two Wyoming sources claimed the small plane was bound instead for Northern Colorado.
The plane took off around 10am Wednesday from the Pinedale Airport and the Manager there tells CBS4 he understood the destination was Fort Collins.
The Spokesman for the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Department agrees.
"Based on what I've been told, I'm sticking with Fort Collins," says Detective Dick Blush.
A search team from the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Department found the wreckage.
A widespread search had been conducted for the missing plane, search that stretched into Colorado.
At 1:30 a.m. Thursday, a dispatcher for the Grand County Sheriff's Office received a request from the FAA.
The agency wanted a deputy to check the two local airports at Kremmling and Granby for the missing aircraft.
Daniels said the cause of the crash will be under investigation by the NTSB. Federal Transportation Safety Board investigators are due to arrive in Rock Springs on May 20, and will be coordinating their efforts with county officials.
