A Colorado pilot was killed when his helicopter crashed northeast of Meeker on Wednesday, Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office officials said.
Thomas Prenzlow, 59, of Meeker was reported missing at 8 p.m. Wednesday when he did not return from a flight that left the town’s airport that morning, in a news release.
Search and rescue crews followed a phone trace and searched for the aircraft for several hours Wednesday night before suspending the search for safety reasons, according to the sheriff’s office.
The search resumed at 6 a.m. Thursday, with help from Coulter Aviation, the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, Classic Air Medical and family members who began hiking in areas believed to be along the helicopter’s planned flight path.
The crashed helicopter was found in “mountainous terrain” northeast of the town at 6:50 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office and .
Prenzlow was the only person on board the privately owned MD 500 helicopter, the sheriff’s office said. The aircraft is registered to an LLC in Montana, Federal Aviation Administration records show.
FAA investigators believe it crashed at about 11:10 p.m. Wednesday, according to a from the agency.
The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are both investigating the crash, and a preliminary report will be released within 30 days.
