Plane crashes into Steamboat Springs mobile home park

A twin-engine Cessna 421 airplane crashed in Steamboat Springs at 4:23 p.m. Monday, setting fire to at least two homes and several structures in the West Acres Mobile Home Park.

It is unknown how many people were aboard the Cessna 421, which can carry between six and seven passengers, but all passengers on the plane are believed to have died in the crash.

At least one West Acres resident was taken to the hospital following the crash, but it is unknown if the injury was related to the incident or if there were any additional injuries to any individuals on the ground.

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Fire crews appeared to have brought the flames under control shortly after 5 p.m.

Steamboat Springs police reported just after 6 p.m. that all West Acres residents had been accounted for, while adding that two structures were engulfed in flames along with several other outbuildings.

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Stacie Fain, the manager at the Steamboat Springs municipal airport, referred questions about the crash to the city’s public information officer. 

According to FlightAware.com, the Cessna 421 took off from the Vance Brand Municipal Airport in Longmont at 3:17 p.m. The plane was scheduled to fly to Ogden Hinckley Airport in Utah but was diverted to the Bob Adams Field in Steamboat Springs roughly 40 minutes after takeoff due to apparent engine trouble.

The flight data shows the aircraft circling in the vicinity of the airport for 25 minutes before the crash. Multiple witnesses on scene and in the area described seeing the plane flying in a circular motion as it lost altitude.

A call to the Longmont airport was not returned before Monday’s newspaper deadline. Flight records and the state’s corporate database show Berthoud-based High Country Aero is listed as the registered owner of the plane.

West Acres resident Julia Martin said she saw the plane appear to lose engine power before she heard a loud bang.

“I am just sitting outside and I saw the plane, and it was like really low and it seemed like it was kind of stuttering, and then maybe the engine just died,” Martin said. “It was gliding and it seemed like the engine kicked back on and got some momentum, but I think the engine possibly like blew up or something.”

David Hayes, the manager at Moe’s Original BBQ, said a number of customers witnessed the plane as they sat on the restaurant’s patio and noticed the plane “sounded weird” and appeared to be “spiraling down” before impact.

“They saw it all and heard it,” he said, adding that he immediately shut down the restaurant and rushed to the site to make sure his friends living in the mobile home park were OK.

West Acres resident Scooter Boggs had just returned home when heard a loud “bam” and rushed outside to find the aircraft fully engulfed in flames and split between two mobile homes.

“I couldn’t see anybody, just flames inside the cockpit,” the 50-year Steamboat resident said. “I was yelling, ‘Is anybody alive? Is anybody alive?'”

“This is not a memory I will ever forget,” Boggs added. “It struck me hard.”

As fire crews put water on the flames and multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the crash, interpreters from Integrated Community were called to the scene and water bottles were distributed to residents who gathered after being evacuated.

Residents returning to the area attempted to drive into the neighborhood but were told to park their cars before approaching the scene on foot.

“That’s where I live. I need to check on my pets,” one woman said as a police officer blocked her from entering the scene.

The West Acres neighborhood hosts roughly 100 homes. As of 7 p.m. Monday, the mobile home park remained closed and residents were unable to return to their residences.

People who were evacuated and have nowhere to go were being directed to the Integrated Community office at 443 Oak St. until further information is provided.

Steamboat Pilot & Today reporter John F. Russell contributed to this report.