A single-engine Cessna 182 crashed and exploded in a vacant field in a residential area near Thornton this afternoon, killing the one person aboard.
The cause of the crash, near Quebec Street and East 124th Avenue, is under investigation, but thunderstorms caused high winds and microbursts in the area at that time, and witnesses to the crash said wind was a likely cause.
Catherine Von Axelson told 9News the plane appeared to attempting to land in the field during the high wind.
“All of a sudden, this great big gust of wind hit,” she said. “His wing just completely flipped up and he nose-dived into the ground and the plane exploded.”
The plane is registered to Julair LLC, an aerial photography company in Marshfield, Wisc., and took off from the Front Range Airport in Watkins on what a Federal Aviation Administration official described as a local flight.
The plane crashed at 3:25 p.m., shortly before takeoffs at Denver International Airport were suspended because of the thunderstorm and difficult wind conditions.
The crash avoided two nearby subdivisions between Quebec Street and Riverdale Road.
“We all got pretty lucky that the plane didn’t come straight in and hit this neighborhood here,” said Joseph Barrow, who saw the crash from his back porch, according to 9News.
