MOFFAT COUNTY, Colo — The pilot of a small plane that took off from the Northern Colorado Regional Airport was killed when the plane crashed in western Moffat County about 10 p.m. Thursday night.
Denver Air Traffic Control notified the Moffat County Sheriff's Office about the possible crash in the Powder Wash area off Moffat County Road 4 at 9:50 p.m.
The Powder Wash area is just south of the Wyoming border and about 60 driving miles northwest of Craig.
Deputies responded to the area and located a crashed fixed-wing aircraft at about 3:20 a.m Friday.
The preliminary investigation indicates that the small twin-engine Aerostar 601 propeller plane crashed into the ground, killing the pilot.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane had taken off earlier Thursday from the Loveland airport earlier in the evening.
The Moffat County Coroner's Office identified the pilot as Scott Dewayne Mendez, 40, of San Jose, Calif.
Craig is located in northwest Colorado about 198 driving miles from Denver.
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