MESA COUNTY, Colo. — The Mesa County Sheriff's Office confirmed the sole occupant on a small plane was killed after the Beechcraft Baron twin-engine aircraft crashed on the Grand Mesa Monday.
According to the sheriff's office, Denver Aircraft Traffic Control lost communication and radar contact with the aircraft around Castle Peak, which is north of Jerry Creek Reservoirs in Mesa County.
The plane took off from Blake Field in Delta County Monday morning and was en route to Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Deputies with the sheriff's office and the Plateau Valley Fire Department began searching the area after the initial reports came in. Civil Air Patrol and Careflight also helped in the search.
At 11:19 a.m., authorities in a searching helicopter spotted a plane on the ground near the reservoirs.
The sheriff's office said crews were still working to retrieve the body from the remote crash site.
The Mesa County Coroner's Office identified the pilot on Tuesday as 68-year-old Robert Cannon of Rock Springs, Wyoming. The cause of death was ruled as multiple blunt force injuries and the manner of death was accidental, according to the coroner.
Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash.