A Colorado businessman is presumed to be among the dead in a mysterious crash that downed two planes in the Florida Everglades over the weekend.
No bodies have been found near the wreckage in the marsh 25 miles from Fort Lauderdale, and as of Sunday night, officials had not officially named those who are missing.
His friends and family in Aspen, however, identified one of the pilots as 37-year-old Bryan Sax of Basalt.
Sax, born and raised in Aspen, and his wife, Christy, own Saxy’s Cafes in Basalt and downtown Boulder.
In April, Sax opened Aspen Aero flight school at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport with his cousin Gary Kraft. Kraft said he learned Sunday morning that Sax was among the missing.
Sax had been in Florida for advanced flight training since last month and was to finish this month.
“I don’t know who the other people were, besides Bryan,” Kraft said Sunday evening.
Authorities said the two single-engine flight-school planes, each with two occupants, probably collided in midair above the Everglades, but that has not yet been determined.
No remains had been found as of Sunday night in the swampy area accessible only by airboat. The planes took off from Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood airports Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
Both planes were operating under visual flight rules, meaning they were not guided by air-traffic control but had responsibility to avoid other aircraft, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Sax got his pilot’s license years ago while he worked as a bartender at Jimmy’s, an American Restaurant and Bar in Aspen. “He was one of my closest friends,” owner Jimmy Yeager said Sunday. “He’s just one of those guys who lights up life. He left a trail of happy people.
“He’s a loving father and was fatherly and loving to all people.”
Kraft said it was too soon to speculate on how Sax’s death would affect his business enterprises.
“That’s a silly question,” he said. “Bryan was an integral part of the business, and he was an integral part of our community. He will be missed.”
In addition to his wife, Sax is survived by daughters Hannah, 13, and Zaya, 7; and his stepson, Dante Lizotte, 13.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
