ARVADA, Colo. — The pilot of a small plane that crashed in Arvada earlier this month reported oil pressure issues, and witnesses described smoke coming from the plane immediately before the crash, according to a preliminary investigation report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The Arvada Fire Protection District responded to the crash around 9:30 a.
m. on June 7 in the area of Oberon Road and Carr Street. The small, fixed-wing plane was on fire in the front yard of a home when crews arrived on scene.
All four people aboard the plane were taken to a hospital with serious injuries. One woman, identified as Melissa Brinkmann, later died from her injuries. >The video above is from June 10.
The Beech V35A took off from Centennial Airport in Englewood around 9:14 a.m. with an intended destination of Northern Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland.
About 10 minutes into the flight, the pilot radioed that he was experiencing engine oil pressure problems and wanted to divert to Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield, the report says. While en route to Broomfield, the pilot attempted a forced landing in the roadway in Arvada. Witnesses reported the plane was flying low, the engine did not sound normal and what appeared to be white smoke coming from the engine.
Evidence from the crash scene showed the left wingtip hit a 30-foot-tall tree near the road before the plane contacted the road with its landing gear and flaps retracted. It slid about 400 feet dow.
