MAY 30, 2019

PRESS RELEASE

On Thursday May 30th at approximately 7:00AM Chaffee County Deputies responded to an open alfalfa field southwest of the Salida Airport off County Road 140 for a report of a downed airplane. Deputies arrived only a few short minutes after the initial call was received and found and unoccupied single engine airplane that had crash landed into the field. No passengers of the aircraft were located. The reporting party had been a passer by motorist.

Deputies immediately notified Chaffee County Search and Rescue who were asked to respond to the scene to search the surrounding area for potential passengers. Through airplane registration research the deputies were able to identify the owner of the airplane as Lelon Albert Lewis age 64 out of Lakewood, Colorado.

Deputies contacted Lewis by telephone who was currently checked in to a local hotel and those deputies then responded to the hotel to make contact with him in person. At the hotel Lewis identified himself as the pilot and sole occupant of the airplane and did not report any injury. Lewis refused to provide any further details to deputies.

The investigation surrounding the crash was turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who responded to the scene. The airplane sustained moderate to extensive damage. For additional information please contact Sheriff John Spezze at 719-207-3199.