Plane crash near Black Hawk kills the pilot

BLACK HAWK — A plane crash in the rugged mountains near Black Hawk claimed the life of the pilot and severely injured a passenger Thursday afternoon.

Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Cherokee Blake says two men were on the plane that departed from Glenwood Springs en route to a graduation at the University of Colorado at Boulder when the crash happened at about 4:15 p.m.

The victim is reportedly a 55-year-old man, and the passenger who survived is 23 year old. As of press time, the identities of the pilot and passengers on board are not known, nor is the relationship of the two men.

The plane is owned by Winkmaggair LLC and is registered to Carbondale resident Barry Maggert and Carroll Winkler, of Glenwood Springs.

Maggert made an unsuccessful run for a Carbondale Town Trustee seat in April. His younger brother is Jeff Maggert, a PGA tour golfer.

Blake says a Blackhawk helicopter was used to lower rescuers to the site of the crash because of the rough terrain, and the 23-year-old man was flown to a Denver hospital.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said from Seattle that one of the people on board called 911 from a cell phone after the crash.

The mission to recover the victim was postponed Thursday night and will resume today.

The NTSB and FAA are investigating the cause of the crash.

The Glenwood Springs Post Independent contributed to this report.