Plane crashes into Culver Reservoir in Larimer County; 2 men dead

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. – Two people died after they were pulled from a plane that crashed into Culver Reservoir southwest of Berthoud Monday morning.

The Berthoud Fire Protection District confirmed to Denver7 that two people were pulled from the crash and taken to a nearby hospital. The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the two people, both men, died at the hospital.

The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office says the plane crashed into the reservoir around 7:45 a.m.

Divers with the sheriff’s office entered the water just after 8 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office.

But both men had been in the water for 50 minutes, the sheriff’s office said, and were declared dead at the hospital. Their identities have not been released.

Allen Kenitzer, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Communications, tells Denver7 the plane was a Cessna 172 and confirmed that two people were aboard the plane when it crashed.

The plane was removed from the reservoir just before 3 p.m.

Plane successfully removed from Culver Reservoir just before 3pm pic.twitter.com/GJa0AFEywk

— Larimer Sheriff (@LarimerSheriff) February 27, 2017

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. Berthoud Fire and the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority assisted the sheriff’s office at the scene.

The FAA also confirmed the plane’s tail number to Denver7. The plane is registered to McAir Aviation LLC, based in Broomfield.

Some now refer to Culver Reservoir as Blue Mountain Reservoir.

Anyone with information on the crash or who witnessed it is asked to call LCSO Investigator Drew Weber at 970-498-5172.