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Four people died Sunday in a plane crash in the foothills near Gold Hill and Ward although the names of the victims have not yet been released.
A preliminary report from the FAA lists one crew member and three passengers as being on board the aircraft. Originally, it was thought the plane was a single engine aircraft, but the FAA released information that the plane was Cessna T337G, a dual-engine aircraft.
The tail number on the aircraft is N337KN, manufactured in 1972, according to the FAA report. The plane is registered to a VA Aviation LLC out of Broomfield, and the certificate for the plane expired in April, according to reports.
It’s not known yet what route the aircraft was taking. The crash is listed as occurring under “unknown circumstances,” reports state.
Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the aircraft was in a descending left turn before it crashed, causing a significant fire in the heavily wooded area near Ward.
The official cause and manner of death, along with the identification of the deceased, will be determined by the Boulder County Coroner’s Office, according to a Boulder County Sheriff’s news release.
The FAA and the NTSB will investigate the crash’s cause, the sheriff’s department said. A NTSB preliminary report is due in two-to-three weeks, Knudson said.
