Niles Tilenius and William Johnston died in a plane crash near Erie, Colorado
The fatal plane crash that occurred east of the runway at the Erie Municipal Airport this month has been identified. The victims were Niles Tilenius and William Johnston, as confirmed by the Weld County Coroner’s Office.
Tilenius, aged 22, hailed from San Mateo County, California. Johnston, aged 21, was from Hillsborough County, Florida.
Information from Tilenius’s obituary reveals he was piloting the aircraft during the accident, with Johnston, his student, as the passenger. Tilenius was employed as a flight instructor at Odyssey Pilot Hours in Erie. He had also received acceptance into United Airlines’ Aviate program and was scheduled to start a new role as a pilot with GoJet Airlines, a United Express affiliate, on November 18th, details from the online obituary.
The official investigation is being handled by the Weld County Coroner’s Office. According to investigators, the small aircraft crashed at approximately 3:32 p.m. on October 19th. There were two individuals aboard at the time of the incident.
An Erie police representative informed CBS News Colorado that FAA investigators were dispatched to the scene. They indicated that both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were conducting the probe.
Erie, approximately 25 miles northwest of Denver and 13 miles east of Boulder, is the location of the airport.
