Investigation officials have released new details about a deadly plane crash in Larimer County. The National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) released its preliminary report about the crash on Nov. 23 that killed two people and left a third severely injured.
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The latest report says skies were clear on the morning when the plane crashed near Storm Mountain, just west of Fort Collins and Loveland. The flight was a training mission that included aerial photography for the Thompson Valley Composite Squadron, a non-profit civilian wing of the U.S. Air Force. The plane’s pilot Susan Wolber and photographer Jay Rhoten died in the crash. Both people are from the Fort Collins area. A third person, Randall Settergren, survived the crash and shared much of the information in the preliminary report.
Settergren told investigators that he believed the plane was returning to the Northern Colorado Regional Airport when the crash happened.
The aircraft was over trees heading toward a ridgeline when the pilot, Wolber, said, “Oh [expletive].” The plane then began to drop. Settergren believes they experienced a downdraft, a burst of wind moving toward the ground. The report says the aircraft immediately began hitting trees before colliding with the ground. The entire event happened within seconds.
After the crash, Settergren’s phone automatically called 911 due to the impact. A helicopter rescued him. According to the report, “the rescue helicopter’s flight nurse made a comment that the winds were swirling during the rescue.”
The preliminary investigation says the plane, which is a Cessna 182T, did not radio in distress, and everything on board appeared to be operating normally. As mentioned, the forecast recorded on the day was clear skies and fairly calm conditions.
The report describes the crash site as steep terrain, with the plane located on a 75-foot downslope from a ridgeline. Portions of the aircraft were found wrapped around nearby trees. Due to the complicated terrain, investigators moved the aircraft to a secure facility to continue their investigation into what caused the crash.
