DENVER (KDVR) — A man was killed in a crash involving a small aircraft and powerlines in Berthoud on Wednesday morning.
Around 8:40 a.m., multiple agencies responded to the scene of the crash in the 3600 block of West Colorado Road 2. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said first responders found downed power lines and an “ultralight glider” that had crashed and caught fire.
Firefighters extinguished the flames, which only impacted the glider, and found a man from Boulder dead inside. He was the only occupant.
A preliminary investigation indicates that the glider likely hit the power lines before it came to a rest on the dirt road. SkyFOX flew over wreckage, and FOX31’s Carly Moore was on the scene where several downed power lines had fallen onto the street and a glider was covered in a white sheet.
Another aircraft was nearby in a field and appeared to be unscathed.
What caused the crash is still under investigation. The sheriff’s office said the Federal Aviation Administration was notified about the fire, but due to the type of glider, it was determined that the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office would lead the investigation.
The identity of the man who died is not yet being released. His name will be released at a later time by the Larimer County Coroner’s Office, along with his official cause and manner of death.
There were no other injuries or property damage reported.
The sheriff’s office said several power lines were impacted and caused outages for about 55 Poudre Valley REA members. Poudre Valley REA crews responded and quickly restored electricity to all but three homes, and stayed on the scene to ensure the safety of other crews.
“Losing someone you care about is never easy, but a sudden loss like this is especially tough,” said Larimer County Sgt. Justin Williamson. “We’ll keep this man’s family and our wider aviation community in our thoughts during the difficult days to come.”
Investigators are still asking for anyone who witnessed the incident and has not yet spoken with law enforcement to contact Investigator Stephen Gates at 970-498-5169.
“These are never calls that we want to hear about, but our investigators are committed to coming out (with) answers for those who are involved,” Larimer County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kate Kimball said. “We do have a very active gliding and flying community here in northern Colorado, and we want to make sure that we get the information for them, as well as if they know what happened and we can just get some answers.”
The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, Berthoud Fire Protection District, and Thompson Valley EMS all responded to the crash.
