Overview
- San Miguel County authorities confirmed late Thursday that a single-engine plane lost contact with Denver air traffic control and crashed on the north side of Dolores Peak about 15 miles southwest of Telluride.
- Rescue crews were flown to the remote, mountainous site by helicopter and later determined there were no survivors, shifting operations from search to recovery.
- The two people killed were identified by investigators as pilot Randy Ramirez, 34, and camera mapping operator Blake Klobuchar, 20, both working for Vexall Imaging Inc.
- The aircraft was a Cessna T206 that had completed a surveying run in Grand Junction and was en route to Belen, New Mexico when it went down, and officials say the cause remains under investigation.
- Local officials said investigators will examine mechanical, environmental and operational factors, and families and the aerial-surveying community are likely to face scrutiny as authorities work to determine what happened.