ASPEN, Colo. (KDVR) — Two men from New York were killed in a plane crash Saturday approximately nine miles outside of Aspen. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
The Pitkin County Chief Deputy Coroner initially identified the plane’s occupants as Ruben Cohen and David Zara, pending results from further examination.
The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office said a friend reported the plane had not reached its destination on Sunday morning. The plane took off around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday from the Aspen Pitkin County Airport headed to Des Moines, Iowa. The friend tracked the flight path and saw that it ended approximately 30 miles east of Aspen, officials said.
PCSO, Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and a plane from the State of Colorado’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control identified a search area near Midway Pass on Sunday.
Mountain Rescue Aspen conducted a field search, and an air search was launched by a helicopter from the Colorado Army National Guard High-Altitude ARNG Aviation Training Site. The aircraft wreckage was discovered around 5:34 p.m. on Sunday. Rescuers landed and recovered both men’s remains.