A Learjet once owned by Colorado singer John Denver slid off a runway at Pueblo Memorial Airport tonight. Ten passengers and two crew escaped injury, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The incident happened at about 6:47 p.m., and runway 8L has been closed since, but no other airport operations were affected, said FAA spokesman Mike Fergus.
The cause of the incident is under investigation, and Fergus said he did not yet know if the incident was weather-related. Snow was falling in Pueblo tonight.
Fergus said the plane’s number is N31WS. , which tracks planes and flights:
“John Denver took delivery of this Lear in 1975. He named it WindStar 1. He created WindStar Aviation. His father, Dutch, was the Chief Pilot.”
Registration records indicate it has since been sold a number of times, and is currently a corporate jet owned by Extrapoint LLC of Lewes, Del.
The website shows no flight plan for today. It last made a 15-minute flight from Centennial to Pueblo on Friday.
KKTV-11 in Colorado Springs, which has a crew at the airport, reported that the plane was taking off and made it about two-thirds of the way down the runway before attempting to divert.
Joey Bunch:303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
