BROOMFIELD, Colo. – The two pilots who were killed in a plane crash in Broomfield Sunday were identified by the Adams County coroner Tuesday.
Robert Devon Williams, 50, and Lee Russell King, 59, were the two pilots who died after the Piper PA32-360 plane they were flying in went down near Anthem Ranch Road and Las Brisas Drive in the Anthem Ranch neighborhood a quarter before noon Sunday. The two were ejected and died at the scene, according to Rachel Haslett, the public information officer for the Broomfield Police Department.
A witness of the crash with aviation experience along the departure path said he heard issues with the engine shortly before it crashed, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Mike Folkerts with the NTSB said the initial investigation indicated the plane took off from Erie Municipal Airport, and it went down less than a minute later.
No one witnessed the crash, but there was one person on the departure path with aviation experience who heard abnormal engine sounds described as two carburetor coughs, according to Folkerts. About 10 seconds later, the same witness heard the crash.
Folkerts said the flight took a shallow climb path, made a left turn and then made impact on the left wing and hit a tree before coming to a rest.
The crash happened in a populated area, and officials said it was lucky that no one on the ground was hurt and no vehicles were hit, though it came about 80-100 feet from a house. Because the pilot made a left turn in the direction of an east-west running road, it’s possible the pilot was making an attempt to land on the road, Folkerts said.
Sunday’s crash comes less than two weeks after another deadly plane crash on May 11. One person was killed in the single-engine plane crash in the area of Eldorado Boulevard and Interlocken Loop.
The investigation into Sunday's plane crash in Broomfield continues, Broomfield police said.