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A training flight and a pilot engaged in an “aerobatic competition” crashed in August at northern Colorado’s Fort Morgan Municipal Airport, killing one pilot and injuring three others, according to federal investigators.
The two planes — a Cessna 172 and an Extra Flugzeugbau EA300, each carrying a pilot and a safety pilot — were trying to land on the same runway at the airport when they crashed and caught fire at about 10:40 a.m. on Aug. 31, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Federal investigators said the Cessna pilot was conducting flight instrument training at the airport with a safety pilot aboard, and he made multiple radio calls to alert the airport to his arrival.
He heard two other airplanes in the traffic pattern, and that one had already landed, as he continued to approach, according to the report.
The Extra 300 pilot was one of several competing at the airport that day, investigators said. He also made several radio calls stating his plan to land on runway 14, where the crash happened, after completing his flight sequence.
According to the report, the Extra 300 pilot heard another competitor would be landing before him, but didn’t hear any other planes in the traffic pattern. The Extra 300 pilot told investigators that the Cessna appeared below him on final approach, with no time to maneuver or avoid the collision.
The crashed planes came to a stop next to each other, off the edge of the runway, federal investigators said. A line of wreckage and debris extended roughly 500 feet from the planes, including separated wings and propellers.
Both people in the Cessna exited the plane with minor injuries, according to NTSB. The Extra 300 pilot sustained serious injuries but was able to get out of his aircraft. Federal officials said a post-crash fire prevented him from saving the safety pilot still trapped inside.
The safety pilot, 35-year-old Kristen Morris of Denver, died from her injuries, according to the International Aerobatic Club, which was hosting the competition that day.
Morris was a retired Air Force captain and an Air Force Wounded Warriors coach, leading injured active-duty Air Force members and veterans in sporting events, according to reporting from Denver7.
“She was doing something she loved, and I will forever remember her as one of the most kind and pure-hearted people I’ve ever met,” Morris’s friend, Allison Smith, told Denver7.
Investigators said both planes were destroyed in the crash, and the remains were taken to an NTSB facility for further examination.
The crash remains under investigation.
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