Editor's note: The Boulder County Coroner’s Office has corrected the spelling of Daniel Wilmoth's name. This story has been updated to reflect that change.
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BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — The three people who died after two planes collided in mid-air in Boulder County on Saturday have been identified.
A single-engine Cessna 172, carrying two, and a Sonex aircraft, carrying one, collided and crashed near Vance Brand Airport in Longmont Saturday just before 9 a.m. The planes then fell into two separate fields around N. 95th Street and Niwot Road.
On Monday morning, the Boulder County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased as:
- Daniel Wilmoth, 22
- Samuel Fisher, 23
- Henry Butler, 69
The cause and manner of death remain under investigation, the coroner's office said.
Air Safety Investigator Mike Folkerts with the National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday that a flight instructor and student pilot were aboard the Cessna. They took off from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport at about 8:43 a.m.
Another pilot in the Sonex took off from the Platte Valley Airpark in Hudson around 8:38 a.m., Folkerts said.
Both planes had climbed to about 2,000 feet when they collided.
“We’ll review the operational background of the pilots, their flight training and experience, and then we’ll perform a medical study on each of the pilots including autopsies and toxicology reports,” Folkerts said.
The Federal Aviation Administration is assisting the NTSB. A preliminary report is expected to be released within two weeks. The full report could take 12 to 18 months to complete. The NTSB asks any witnesses with information to email witness@ntsb.gov.
