COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — In an air traffic control (ATC) audio obtained by KOAA, multiple “Mayday” calls can be heard just seconds before a small single engine plane crashed on Powers Boulevard.
The plane was cleared for takeoff from the Colorado Springs Airport (COS) around 4:06 a.m. Wednesday morning. It seemed to have taken off around 4:08 a.m. and radioed in that they climbed to 6,500 feet.
Minutes later, at 4:12 a.m., a distress call is heard over the ATC audio.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday,” the pilot said before repeating a second time. “Mayday, mayday, mayday.”
About 25 seconds later, the air traffic controller responded, “Did someone call mayday?”
A few more seconds lapse before the air traffic controller calls out the plane's tail number, N999AD, and asks the pilot to identify themselves, but it is met with silence.
Authorities report the plane crash landed on Powers Boulevard right around 4:13 a.m.
Six minutes later, the air traffic controller had a conversation with what sounded like emergency services personnel, who were asking about information on the plane crash.
“Yeah, I was just on the phone with police. I had an aircraft go down,” the controller said. “He never really turned. He kept the runway heading. Four to five miles out is when he appeared to crash.”
Flight path data from FlightAware showed the flight path departing from COS and flying in essentially a straight line over Powers Boulevard before abruptly ending just four minutes into the flight.
The air traffic controller said the flight’s destination was the Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) in Springfield, Missouri. The flight from COS to SGF can take up to four hours, according to flight listings.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plane registry lists the N999AD plane as belonging to Allison Aviation LLC out of Pueblo.
According to the Colorado Secretary of State’s business listings, Allison Aviation LLC was formed in June ,2024 by Joshua Allison. Allison was appointed to the Pueblo Memorial Airport Advisory Committee by the mayor and his partial term ended on Tuesday.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department said there were three occupants on board and all are accounted for with no injuries. No names or identities of those on board the flight have been released.
The FAA will investigate the crash.
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No injuries reported after small plane crash-lands in Colorado Springs
At about 4:15 a.m. on Wednesday, crews in Colorado Springs were called to a busy intersection where a small plane had crash-landed. "3 occupants on board, all parties accounted for with no injuries," the Colorado Springs Fire Department wrote on social media.
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