ARVADA, Colo. — Four people onboard a small plane were hospitalized with serious injuries after the aircraft crashed in a residential area of Arvada Friday morning.
Arvada police posted on X, formerly Twitter, that they were responding to reports of a small aircraft crash in the area of Oberon Rd. and Carr St. at around 9:45 a.m. The crash happened just after 9:30 a.m. Friday, according to Arvada Fire Deputy Chief Matt Osier.
Two adults and two juveniles have been transported to local hospitals with injury. pic.twitter.com/Mi3fybM1cN
— Arvada Police (@ArvadaPolice) June 7, 2024
Arvada police first reported the injured as two adults and two juveniles. An NTSB spokesman later said two adults were involved and that investigators were "trying to confirm" the ages of the other two involved.
The four people inside the plane — a single-engine Beechcraft V35A Bonanza aircraft — were taken to a hospital for treatment, according to spokespeople from both Arvada police and Arvada Fire Rescue. Their conditions were not immediately known.
The pilot had reported an engine issue and tried to make it to Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport to make a landing, NTSB spokesman Alex Lemishko said Friday afternoon, but the plane crashed about seven miles south of the airport.
The plane clipped a tree before attempting to land on the roadway, Lemishko said.
Watch the full NTSB update here:
Erick Garcia, who lives near the plane crash site, told Denver7 he was on his way to work when he saw the plane hover over him before he noticed it gliding toward Oberon Rd. As the small aircraft descended closer to the ground, Garcia said he followed it and saw it crash.
"It caught flames as soon as it hit the [ground]," Garcia said. "As soon as I arrived (to the crash scene), I saw the bodies on [ground]," he said, explaining that the aircraft wasn't making any noise as it glided and pivoted above him as it tried to make a U-turn before crashing and catching on fire. "You could tell it was already having an issue right beforehand. No smoke or nothing, just literally... a quiet glide."
Hear Erick Garcia's full eyewitness account of the crash here:
Arvada
'The motor was off, it was hovering': Eyewitness recounts Arvada plane crash
The small aircraft had taken off from Centennial Airport, according to Cassie Pearce, the Jefferson County public affairs director, who told Denver7 she did not know at what time the plane left the airport or where it was going.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the circumstances of the crash, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said in an email. The NTSB will lead the investigation and provide any updates.
