A fiery plane crash at the Aspen airport killed one person and injured two others, one severely.
According to Colorado authorities, the flight originated in Mexico and all three aboard were Mexican men.
Alex Burchetta, director of operations for the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, identified the man who died as Sergio Carranza Brabata of Mexico. He did not release the names of the two injured, and he did not know where in Mexico Brabata lived.
Burchetta said the plane went off the right side of the runway, flipped over and burst into flames yesterday. “The injuries were traumatic in nature, but they were not thermal,” he said. “So the fire never reached inside the cabin as far as we can tell.”
Ginny Dyche, a spokeswoman for Aspen Valley Hospital, said the facility received two patients who were involved in the crash. She later said one patient was in fair condition and another patient, who was in a critical condition, was transferred elsewhere.
Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, confirmed that the plane was a Canadair CL-600, a mid-sized private jet.
The aircraft is registered to the Bank of Utah in Salt Lake City, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. Bank officials did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.
A plane with the same tail number took off at 6 a.m. (local time) from the airport in Toluca, a city 35 miles west of Mexico City, before stopping in Tucson, according to a Mexican federal official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.
The official said that the passengers aboard were three Mexican men: the pilot, co-pilot and a passenger. He declined to release their names, citing security reasons.
Tucson International Airport officials didn’t immediately have more information. Attempts by The Associated Press to reach airport officials in Colorado were not immediately successful.
The crash prompted Twitter responses from two celebrity witnesses, who confirmed to The Associated Press that they sent the tweets.
Country singer LeAnn Rimes Cibrian tweeted via @leannrimes on Sunday: “So sad! Horrible plane crash we just saw happen at the Aspen airport.”