It is likely to be a year, or more, before federal investigators determine what caused Saturday’s deadly midair collision of two small planes in north Boulder.
In this case, however, investigators will have advantages they often don’t have in trying to determine what happened in a crash where everyone on both planes perished.
For starters, they will be able to talk to the pilot of a glider who cut loose from the aircraft towing him just as it collided with the other plane.
They also will also be able to question two passengers who were riding in the glider, a woman and her 11-year-old son.
They also will be able to examine numerous photographs and even videotape of the immediate aftermath of the crash taken by scores of people who heard the crash, looked up and started shooting.
Jennifer Rodi, the National Transportation Safety Board’s lead investigator on the crash, said the work would be driven by the evidence.
“Jumping to conclusions is unfair to those who lost their lives and unfair to those left behind,” Rodi said.
The first step, which began Saturday, is a thorough investigation at the scene. Rodi said tarps were being brought in to cover the wreckage because of snow in the forecast.
Ultimately, the wreckage will be moved to a storage building where it will be laid out and perhaps even re-assembled, to the extent possible, in an effort to understand the collision.
Rodi said the initial investigation will take eight to 10 months.
Several months after that, the board will determine the probable cause of the crash.
