The wreckage was found in an area near Midway Pass, about nine miles east of Aspen, according to the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.
PITKIN COUNTY, Colo. — Two men are dead after a small plane went down east of Aspen Saturday.
According to a release from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), dispatchers received a call just before 10:30 a.m. Sunday from someone reporting that her friend had left the Aspen Pitkin County airport Saturday afternoon and had not arrived in Des Moines as scheduled.
She said she had been able to track the flight path of her friend’s plane and saw that the path ended about 30 miles east of Aspen, according to the release.
WATCH: The video above is a story about aircraft parachutes that originally aired in May 2021.
The sheriff’s office said one of their deputies investigated the report with help from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and a plane from the state’s Division of Fire Prevention Control, which led to the identification of a search area near Midway Pass. That’s about nine miles east of Aspen, near the Continental Divide.
PCSO said volunteers from Mountain Rescue Aspen began a field search, and, with help from a Colorado Army National Guard helicopter, found the wreckage of a downed aircraft just after 5:30 p.m. Sunday
The release said the helicopter landed near the wreckage, and rescuers recovered the remains of two people. The coroner’s office has presumably identified the remains as Ruben Cohen and David Zara, both of New York.
The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
RELATED: 2 people, dog killed in plane crash south of Centennial Airport
RELATED: Small plane goes down in field north of Lafayette
RELATED: Small plane crashes in Larimer County
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS
MORE WAYS TO GET 9NEWS
Subscribe to our daily 9NEWSLETTER for top stories from 9NEWS curated daily just for you. Get content and information right now for can’t-miss stories, Next and Broncos content, weather and more delivered right to your inbox.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP
iTunes: http://on9news.tv/itunes
Google Play: http://on9news.tv/1lWnC5n
HOW TO ADD THE 9NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KUSA.
For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for “9news” to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
