A Colorado plane crash left three people dead on Sunday night.
The small aircraft went down shortly after taking off from the Telluride Airport on Sunday, according to San Miguel County Sheriff Bill Masters, who spoke with the Denver Channel.
The plane, named Beechcraft Bonanza, departed from the airport at 11:20 a.m. on Sunday. Three passengers aboard were on their way to Cortez, Colo. Conditions were calm, with slight winds, a bit of snow, and visibility for one mile ahead.
Air traffic controllers last heard from the pilot upon takeoff, but couldn't make contact with the plane by about 12:40 p.m. The San Miguel County Sheriff's Office launched a search for The Beechcraft Bonanza immediately thereafter.
Deputies from the sheriff's office found the plane at about 5:17 p.m., just 1 mile away from the airstrip where it departed. None of the three aboard the flight survived the crash.
Officials said the plane crashed into a cliff, then sank into the bend beneath.
Masters expressed his shock and sadness to the Denver Channel.
"This is certainly not the outcome we were hoping for, it's just a terrible, terrible tragedy," Masters stated.
Identities of the three deceased have not yet been released. Medical officials at the county coroner's office said they'd publicize the names after the victims' families were notified.
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