ERIE, Colo.—A pilot and student died when their experimental plane crashed shortly after taking off from Erie Airpark Saturday.
Emmett Murphy, 58, of Riverton, Wyo., who was the student, and instructor Matthew Crine, 41, of Wheat Ridge, died when their single-engine plane crashed shortly before 2 p.m., said Weld County sheriff’s spokeswoman Margie Martinez.
Eyewitness Karilyn Clark told KUSA-TV that the plane banked hard to avoid power lines before it spiraled and hit the ground.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said the plane was registered to Skyraider Aviation Inc. of Erie.
Fergus said the FAA conducted a preliminary investigation and would turn over the scene to National Transportation Safety Board investigators.
The plane the two were flying in was built from a kit and had been certified by the FAA, Fergus said.
