DENVER (KDVR) The National Transportation Safety Board issued a preliminary report on a deadly small plane crash that killed two men on May 17 when it burst into flames in a field near Broomfield.
The Beechcraft was “destroyed” after it crashed near Broomfield that Saturday, according to the NTSB report, and inserted a surveillance image from a nearby bus stop of the flight showing the landing gear extended and what appears to be an open door.
On May 22, the two men on board the plane when it crashed were identified by the Boulder County Coroner as Euguen Knutson, 80, and James Gelaude, 74. The plane burst into flames upon impact in a field near Broomfield and Highway 36.
The pilot had reported the open door to air traffic control shortly after takeoff from the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Jefferson County. The NTSB reported the pilot radioing the control tower, stating, “We heard a door pop, we need to come back around.”
Air traffic controllers then tried to elicit a response from the plane without success.
The NTSB report said that family members told investigators the plane’s owner “was providing a cross-country familiarity flight to the pilot-rated passenger who had recently purchased a similar airplane.”
The report states that investigators found the main cabin door separated from the airplane, with the door handle found in an open position. The rear sloped latch, lower pin and upper claw latch were found to be in a locked position.
The cabin baggage door thumb latch was found in the fuselage debris, closed and in a locked position. The nose baggage door could not be identified due to damage.
