A small plane believed to be carrying five people crashed into a reservoir in southwestern Colorado, and authorities say all are feared dead.
The single-engine Socata TBM700 was flying from Bartlesville, Okla., to Montrose, about 180 miles southwest of Denver, when it crashed Saturday, Ouray County spokeswoman Marti Whitmore said.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the plane crashed in Ridgway Reservoir, about 25 miles south of Montrose, or six miles north of Ridgway, just before 2 p.m. Saturday. Rescue efforts began Saturday afternoon but were suspended shortly after sundown until Sunday morning.
Newspapers in Alabama identified the victims Sunday as Jimmy L. Hill, president of Gadsden Tool; his cousin Seth McDuffie; Katrina Vinzant Barksdale; and her two sons, Xander and Kobe.
The 1996 model fixed-wing aircraft is registered to Gadsden Aviation LLC of Rainbow City, Ala., according to the FAA.
Gregor says the flight took off from Gadsden, Ala., before stopping in Oklahoma. The cause of the crash isn’t yet known.
Whitmore said no one is believed to have survived, but as of Sunday evening, no victims had been recovered from the aircraft, which was about 90 feet from shore in 60 to 90 feet of water.
“It’s in deep water, and it’s in cold water, and we don’t have the right resources in the county” to recover the plane, she said Sunday. Dive teams from Denver and Gunnison arrived at the reservoir Sunday afternoon.
According to a news release from Ouray County Emergency Management, search teams were in boats Sunday morning, and dive teams were later used to confirm the location of the plane, based on sonar images obtained Sunday to accurately locate the aircraft. The images suggested an intact fuselage with wings still attached.
Plans are being made to get additional teams and equipment in place as quickly as possible, according to information released during a news conference Sunday evening at Ridgway State Park.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Agency will be handling the investigation of the cause of the crash.
The Ouray County Sheriff’s Office has also taken statements from eyewitnesses, according to the release. The statements will be turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Messages left for Gadsden Tool weren’t immediately returned.
Colorado State Parks has closed a nearby campground and day facilities, pending completion of the recovery efforts.
The crash happened several weeks after three people died when a plane crashed after taking off from Telluride Regional Airport.
