Two men killed in a plane crash Sept. 3 on the north side of Dolores Peak near Telluride have been identified.
The victims were identified as Randy Ramirez, 34, and Blake Klobuchar, 20, said San Miguel County Coroner Emil Sante.
Ramirez, who was from Jupiter, Florida, and Belen, New Mexico, was flying the plane, and Klobuchar, from Peralta, New Mexico, was the camera mapping operator as they collected aerial surveillance near Grand Junction, according to an article by The Telluride Times.
The men were reportedly finished with their surveying in Grand Junction and were flying the Cessna T206 back to Belen when the crash occurred. The crash took place shortly before 3:30 p.m., and the San Miguel Sheriff’s Office learned the plane was missing via a Denver Air Traffic Control report at 3:43 p.m.
The sheriff’s office also received a report of smoke near Dolores Peak, and the smoke was captured by a panoramic camera used for fire detection in the area.
Teams were flown to Dolores Peak in the Lizard Head Wilderness around 7 p.m., where they checked for survivors. The Telluride Times also reported that San Miguel Sheriff’s Office deputies, San Miguel County Search and Rescue, Telluride Fire Protection District and Bureau of Land Management personnel responded.
“After a thorough assessment of the crash scene, it has been determined that there are no survivors,” SMSO spokeswoman Susan Lilly said following the search.
Jose Ramirez spoke of his brother’s love of flying in a GoFundMe post following the crash.
“He was someone who followed his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot,” Jose Ramirez said. “One of my greatest joys was seeing him in his pilot uniform, pulling his flight bag through the airport and earning a living doing what he loved. He worked incredibly hard to achieve that dream, and we were all so proud of him.”
The investigation is now being handled by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
bduran@the-journal.com
