Two people from California and a Washington State resident were killed when a Beech Bonanza 35 crashed on Rollins Pass on Wednesday, the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office said today.
The pilot was identified as John B. Howard, 70, of Sunnyvale, Calif.
The passengers were identified as Catherine Heveran, 56, of Sunnyvale, and 25-year-old Jim Chatham of Spokane, Wash.
Chatham was a friend of Heveran’s daughter, according to Cherokee Blake, spokeswoman for the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office.
Blake said the three arrived at the Boulder airport about 6 a.m. Wednesday and left for Sunnyvale.
A.B. Chatham, Jim Chatham’s uncle, said Jim Chatham was an Army veteran who recently left the service after serving in the Middle East.
He described his nephew as a “clean-cut, All-American” type who with his twin brother, Alan, volunteered for military service.
“He was the kind of person who would step up to the plate,” said Chatham of his nephew.
Blake said National Transportation Safety Board investigators will return to the crash scene on Saturday to continue the investigation into what caused the plane to go down.
Smoke from the crash was reported about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday from Rollins Pass, which is between Nederland and Winter Park.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
