STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — The two people onboard a small plane who died after the aircraft crashed into a mobile home park in Steamboat Springs Monday have been identified.
Dan Dunn, 67, and Jessica Pauline Melton, 42, were identified Tuesday as the two victims who died in the crash. None of the residents in the West Acres Mobile Home Park were injured.
Melton was a U.S. figure skating official and a member of the Denver Colorado Figure Skating Club, according to a social media post from the organization. The post called Melton a "respected businesswoman and all around wonderful human."
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“Our hearts go out to the families and friends of Dan and Jessica,” said Police Commander Rich Brown in a statement. “This could have been a much larger event and I want to thank all the first responders, crisis support, interpretive services and relief personnel who responded to the West Acres neighborhood.”
The twin-engine Cessna airplane is believed to have taken off from Longmont and was en route to Ogden, Utah, when the Cessna 421 experienced an engine problem and crashed into the mobile home park near the Steamboat Springs Airport/Bob Adams Field (SBS) Monday afternoon.
The plane crashed between two mobile home trailers, causing a fire that spread to the two trailers. The city said its full on-duty shift of 10 firefighters and numerous off-duty personnel responded to the scene.
See the charred homes in a report from Denver7's Allie Jennerjahn Tuesday morning in the video player below:
The plane's remnants were still under a tent in one of the mobile homes' yards. Debris and ash littered the ground Tuesday morning, and a burnt street sign showed the reach of the flames that came from the crash.
A West Acres resident told Denver7 that the people who lived in the two homes destroyed by the fire were at work when it happened.
The official cause of the crash is under investigation. However, according to Routt County Emergency Communications, the plane was reportedly experiencing an engine problem.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will give a preliminary report on what happened. Still, the NTSB said a final report could take up to two years as they look into the pilot, the plane and the operating environment.
