LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. — Friends and family are mourning the loss of two people after they were killed in a single-engine plane crash in Larimer County Saturday morning. The co-pilot, Randall Settergren, was seriously injured.
Investigators are looking into what caused the crash into the side of Storm Mountain that killed the pilot, Susan Wolber, and aerial photographer, Jay Rhoten.
According to the Larimer County Sheriff's office, the crew was on a routine training mission for the Civil Air Patrol when the plane went down around 11:12 a.m. Saturday.
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2 dead, 1 injured in single-engine plane crash on Storm Mountain
"We've lost a person on the planet who was making a difference for people," said Bill Snodgrass, president of the FNL Pilots Association. "The thing that [Susan] was really most passionate about in aviation was introducing young women, or women to aviation."
AirTracker7 video shows the shattered Cessna 182 after it crashed on big rocks and around large trees.
Snodgrass said it was the same kind of plane he used to fly with Wolber.
"One of my favorite times with her was flying over to Durango in our Cessna 182 and picking a patient up and then taking them to Denver, and then flying them back," he said. "She was a number of people's instructors, and she was a very competent pilot, one of the most competent. So, that's another reason that this accident is surprising to people."
FlightAware shows the plane taking off from Northern Colorado Regional Airport and making several circles before going down.
"If they were flying low enough, let's say 1,000 or 2,000 feet above the ground taking pictures, it's possible that an air current, a downdraft, pushed them into the mountain," Snodgrass said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified, and an NTSB team is expected to arrive to investigate the cause of the crash.
"I'm going to miss my friend. I'm going to miss her," Snodgrass said.
Officials said recovery efforts will likely take days.