A private jet crashed during a landing attempt at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport in Aspen, Colorado on Sunday. The crash left one dead and another seriously injured.
It was the jet’s second attempt at landing, but it crashed, going off the runway and flipping over, reports ABC News. The jet then exploded in flames.
Emergency crews arrived at the scene immediately, the sheriff’s office confirmed. Authorities also said that there were three people on the plane, flying from Mexico. They landed in Tucson, Arizona before heading to Aspen.
The deceased is Sergio Carranza Brabata, 54, of Mexico, who was the co-pilot. The pilot is seriously injured and his identity has not been released. A passenger has also not been identified and suffered less serious injuries.
“The injuries were traumatic in nature, but they were not thermal,” Alex Burchetta of the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office told the Denver Post. “So the fire never reached inside the cabin as far as we can tell.”
The jet was a Canadair CL-600-2B16 Challenger and was given clearance to land at 12:10 p.m. However, Aspen Tower frequency audio shows that it missed its approach.
The crash was actually witnessed by celebrities Kevin Nealon and LeAnn Rimes, who tweeted about it. “Horrible plane crash here at Aspen airport. Exploded into flames as it was landing. I think it was a private jet,” Nealon, a comedian, wrote.
So sad! Horrible plane crash we just saw happen at the Aspen airport.
— LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (@leannrimes) January 5, 2014