Photos by Teresa Benns
M.V. grad dies in crop duster crash Modified: Friday, Aug 19th, 2016
By Teresa L. Benns
ALAMOSA COUNTY, CO — A Monte Vista High School graduate died in a crop dusting accident Friday morning after his plane crash landed in a barley field just inside the Alamosa County line off Road 6 East and Highway 112.
The pilot, Dusty Claunch, 27, of Monte Vista, was deceased at the scene. Dusty had worked for Rio Grande Sheriff’s Office for several years and recently started working for Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office. He had taken the summer off to work for a local agricultural company as a pilot but was scheduled to go back with the sheriff’s office this fall.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, the call on the crash came into their dispatch center at 10:53 a.m. The crash landing also sparked a fire in the immediate area. The plane was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on scene. The flames from the crash also ignited the barley field that the plane had crashed into.
Volunteer fire units from Center, Mosca-Hooper responded to the call. A CSP trooper reported the blaze was extinguished within about 15 minutes of arrival.
The Colorado State Patrol was assisted by units from the Alamosa Sheriff's Department, Rio Grande County Sheriff's Department, Saguache Sheriff's Department and the Center Police Department. The FAA and NTSB are enroute to the crash scene to conduct an investigation.
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Man, 27, dies in fiery San Luis Valley crop duster crash
The pilot, Dusty Claunch, of Monte Vista, was pronounced dead at the scene.
By Jesse Paul | jpaul@denverpost.com
August 19, 2016 at 5:31 pm
A 27-year-old man is dead after the crop duster he was piloting crashed Friday morning in southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley, authorities say.
The pilot, Dusty Claunch, of Monte Vista, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The plane went down just before 11 a.m. between the towns of Center and Hooper, south of Colorado 112 in Alamosa County. The aircraft was fully engulfed in flames when first responders arrived at the scene. The fire from the crash ignited a barley field that the crop duster crashed into.
“Dusty had worked for Rio Grande Sheriff’s Office for several years and recently started working for Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office,” the Colorado State Patrol’s bureau in Alamosa said in a news release. “He had taken the summer off to work for a local agricultural company as a pilot but was scheduled to go back with the sheriff’s office this fall.”
The Center and Mosca-Hooper Fire Departments responded and extinguished the fire, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
Allen Kenitzer, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said Claunch was piloting a S2R Aero Commander Crop Duster, which crashed under unknown circumstances.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
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Date:
19-AUG-2016
Time: 10:53
Type: Agplane
Owner/operator:
Registration:
C/n / msn:
Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Alamosa County E of Center, CO -
United States of America Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature: Agricultural
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Narrative:
The aircraft impacted farm field terrain during an aerial application flight in Alamosa County east of Center, Colorado. The airplane was partially consumed by the post-impact fire and the sole pilot onboard received fatal injuries.
Sources:
http://www.montevistajournal.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=4993&page=72
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.748334,-106.0479006,16z/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-us