Erie, Colorado — A 67-year-old pilot, his girlfriend, and her three children were killed on Sunday afternoon in a small plane crash north of Denver, Colorado. The fatal crash happened at around 11:50 a.m. near Erie Municipal Airport.
Officials say the six-seater Piper PA-46 plane departed from Centennial Airport and crashed during approach for landing in a field northwest of the runway at Erie. A passerby reported the crash to authorities and drove out to the crash site.
Emergency crews airlifted two of the crash victims to area hospitals. At 4:30 p.m., officials confirmed that all on board the flight had succumbed to their injuries. The deceased have been identified as pilot Oliver Frascona, 67; Tori Rains-Wedan, 41; Mason Wedan, 15; Austin Wedan, 11; and Hunter Wedan, 11. Frascona was a prominent Erie attorney and Rains-Wedan owned a company that provides continuing education classes for real estate brokers.
At this time, officials are uncertain of what caused the plane to crash. According to 9 News, both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have sent officials out to investigate the cause of the crash.
