Carbondale resident Barry Maggert died
piloting his single-engine plane after it crashed near Black Hawk on Thursday afternoon.

The Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office reported the fatality and an injured passenger as a result of the crash, which occurred in a mountainous, wooded area at approximately 10,300 feet.

The 1965 Cessna 182 is co-owned by Maggert and Carroll Winkler of Glenwood Springs, who said that Maggert was piloting the plane and was on his way to his son’s college graduation in Boulder.

Winkler said Maggert had been a pilot for “a fair amount of time,” and was instrument rated and “a good pilot.”

Maggert's brother, Jeff, a professional golfer, reportedly confirmed Barry Maggert's death when he withdrew from The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The plane took off from Glenwood Springs municipal airport at 3:10 p.m., and was losing altitude and engine power when it lost radar contact at 3:45 p.m., according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus.

He added that the passenger called 911 from a cell phone after the crash.

Gilpin County sheriff’s spokeswoman Cherokee Blake confirmed that a 55-year-old man and a 23-year-old man were on the plane.

Blake called the rescue efforts “quite an operation” due to the rugged terrain. Rescuers attempted to gain access to the accident site by snowcat, but due to time constraints called in a National Guard Blackhawk helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base, she said. The Blackhawk airlifted the rescue teams into the area, and they transferred the injured man to an air life chopper that transported him to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver.

Maggert, a structural engineer with his own firm in Carbondale, ran unsuccessfully for the Carbondale Board of Trustees this spring and at least once before.

Recovery efforts to retrieve Maggert's body resumed this morning.

"Due to the rugged terrain and snow, heavy equipment will be used to clear the road to allow the recovery team access to the crash area. ... It is expected that the operation could take several hours," a press release from the Gilpin County Sheriff's Office sent at 8:12 a.m. today.

The National Transportation Safety Board is coming in today to investigate the accident.

lburton@aspendailynews.com, lutz@aspendailynews.com