Video: Plane nearly crashes near Continental Divide

Talya Cunningham
·1 min read
37

DENVER (KDVR) — A plane in flight on the Fourth of July seemed to come inches from tragedy near the Continental Divide.

The pilot appeared to be trying to make it over a pass in Grand County, but the plane could not seem to keep enough altitude and almost seemed to stall. A group of hikers captured video as the pilot pulled off a last-minute maneuver to save the day.

A Cessna plane nose down in the Colorado Rocky Mountains
A Cessna plane nose down in the Colorado Rocky Mountains

When the video begins, the plane is headed straight down toward a field of snow. The pilot of the small Cessna seems to pull up just in time as the belly of the plane almost scrapes the ground.

The man who posted the video online said the plane came up the valley near Devil’s Thumb and struggled to get enough altitude and speed to clear the saddle between two peaks.

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Data from FlightAware shows the plane left the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield headed for Granby. The moment just before the near crash, the plane had slowed to 47 miles an hour at nearly 12,000 feet above sea level.

The altitude could have been the issue. Experts say engines like the one in this Cessna cannot make full power at higher altitudes.

FlightAware shows the plane was able to make it over a different pass and land safely in Granby.

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