Search on for Downed Medical Plane in Colorado
The aircraft was carrying a pilot, nurse and paramedic and is owned by Eagle Air Medical Ambulance.
ALAMOSA, Colo. --
A search is under way in southern Colorado for a downed twin-engine medical plane with three people on board that disappeared on a flight from Chinle, Ariz., to Alamosa, Colo.
Officials said the plane might have gone down in the San Juan Wilderness Area along the Archuleta-Conejos county line. An emergency locator beacon was picked up in that area.
The location is about 20 miles southwest of Alamosa.
The twin-engine Beech King Air C-90A disappeared at about 11:23 p.m. Thursday at an altitude of 11,700 feet. That was the last radar contact the FAA had with the plane.
"The fact that they lost radar and radio signal at the same time indicates that something bad happened," said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor in Seattle.
The ELT could be sent off by a crash or hard landing.
The aircraft was carrying a pilot, nurse and paramedic and is owned by Eagle Air Medical Ambulance.
The plane was headed to Alamosa to pick up a patient for transport to Colorado Springs, a HealthOne spokeswoman told The Denver Post.
Searchers on horseback are heading into the area and a search helicopter was requested but high winds and fog in the area were preventing an air search.
The search area is concentrated in the Green Lake and Charlies Peak areas.
Searchers from Rio Grande County area also participating.
Eagle Air is based in Blanding, Utah. A spokesman for the company said "We are not giving out any information at this time."
Copyright 2007 by TheDenverChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
