A single-engine racing plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Erie Municipal Airport this morning killing the 64-year-old man piloting the craft, police say.
The pilot was identified as Ib Christian R. Hansen, of Arvada, by the Weld County Coroner’s Office.
Information from the Federal Aviation Administration suggests the plane was a one-seat Cassutt III M, a vintage design often built at home by hobbyists and used to race.
A spokesman for the federal agency said the plane was consumed by flames at the scene. The plane’s tail number is registered to an Arvada man.
Witnesses told Erie police officers that the plane first headed north. When the pilot turned left, the nose dipped and the plane crashed to the ground, Erie Police Lt. Lee Mathis said.
The plane took off around 9:50 a.m. and authorities responded to the crash at 9:53 a.m.
“He was right on the north end of the airport. He didn’t get far,” Mathis said.
Police are awaiting assistance from National Transportation Safety Board investigators to help decipher the type of plane and what caused the crash, Mathis said.
No one else was injured in the crash.
The Boulder Daily Camera contributed to this report.
