Fiery Mid-Air Collision in Colorado

TWO LIGHT PLANES COLLIDED IN MID-AIR over Boulder, Colorado, Saturday afternoon leaving three people dead as the entire city watched the flaming wreckage plunge to the ground.  Three more people who were in a glider being towed by one of the planes survived the crash after the glider pilot disengaged the tow cable and guided the craft back to the airstrip.

Denver Post

The two planes, a Cirrus SR20 and a Piper Pawnee, collided at 1:30 pm shortly after the Piper took off from the airport towing the glider.  The Denver Post describes what happened next:

The crash’s immediate aftermath was witnessed by countless people all over Boulder whose attention was drawn to the sky by a thunderous bang.

“It sounded like somebody throwing a heavy object into an empty metal Dumpster,” said Shano Kelley, who was working in his jewelry studio a quarter-mile away. “It had a deep thud to it.”  He and others described a horrific scene — an overpowering thud, fire in the sky, people jumping from the burning wreckage as the remains of the planes plunged to the ground.

In that instant, the glider pilot cut loose from the cable that was towing the craft, flew through flaming debris and headed back to the airport (with his two passengers, a woman and an 11-yr.-old boy).

Read the complete, detailed story in the Denver Post HERE.
KUSA-TV has an updated report HERE.

Denver Post