A search-and-rescue team recovered the body of Carbondale engineer Barry Maggert on Friday afternoon, after he crashed his plane in Black Hawk en route to his son’s graduation.
The Maggert family issued a brief statement to the media “to thank everyone for their love, support, prayers and condolences” and said a celebration of Barry Maggert’s life is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 15, at a location and time to be announced in the coming days.
KMGH-TV in Denver reported Friday night the passenger in the plane was Jonathon Holton, a family friend. Holton was treated and released from a Denver hospital.
The crash occurred in a wooded area at approximately 10,400 feet. Maggert and Holton took off from Glenwood Springs municipal airport at 3:10 p.m. Thursday, and the plane was losing altitude and engine power before it dropped off the radar at 3:45 p.m., according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus.
Meanwhile, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Maggert’s brother Jeff, a three-time PGA Tour winner, withdrew from The Players Championship, citing the fatal plane crash in Colorado.
Maggert has twin sons, Lee and Bryant, as well as a younger son. Lee Maggert was scheduled to graduate from the University of Colorado at Boulder yesterday.
Due to rugged terrain, rescuers called in a National Guard Blackhawk helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base to transport Holton to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver. The helicopter was also used to lower emergency teams down into the crash site.
It took the search-and-rescue team three one-half hours to recover Maggert’s body. Due to the remote location, snow and other complications, heavy equipment was used to reach him.
The 1965 Cessna 182 that crashed was co-owned by Maggert and Carroll Winkler of Glenwood Springs. Winkler told the Aspen Daily News that Maggert was instrument rated and “a good pilot.”
Maggert was a structural engineer with his own firm in Carbondale and ran unsuccessfully three times for the Carbondale Board of Trustees. He is the former chairman of the Garfield County Libertarian Party and wrote a column for the Carbondale Valley Journal weekly newspaper.
In their statement, the Maggert family asked, “in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to one of the following organizations that aided in the rescue and recovery. Their kindness, compassion, and dedication is beyond our imaginations.”
The agencies listed include the FAA, Gilpin County Sheriff's Office, Gilpin Victim Services, Central City Police Department, Black Hawk Police Department, Gilpin Search and Rescue, Alpine Search and Rescue, Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue, Central City Fire Department, Black Hawk Fire Department, Civil Air Patrol, Colorado National Guard Airlife and Gilpin Ambulance.
hoop@aspendailynews.com