Four people from Tennessee were killed early on Friday when a small private plane crashed near Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on route to the mountain resort town.
The Federal Aviation Administration
said an Epic E1000 crashed near Steamboat Springs, Colorado, around 12:20 a.m. local time on Friday, Feb. 13, with four people on board. The agency said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will lead the investigation and provide future updates.
The aircraft went down in mountainous terrain under unknown circumstances near Steamboat Springs, the NTSB said in a statement sent to NTD News. The plane left Nashville, stopped in Kansas City, and was headed to Steamboat Springs as its final destination.
The Routt County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as 47-year-old Aaron Stokes, his 21-year-old son Jakson Stokes, his 21-year-old nephew Colin Stokes, and 37-year-old Austin Huskey, in a statement sent to NTD News.
Aaron Stokes lived in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife and four children, according to a
biography from his company EuroFix, a family-owned specialized European auto repair shop in Nashville. He also founded Shop Fix Academy, a business that helps auto shop owners grow their operations.
Stokes’ passion for auto repair began as a young adult after a car crash left him stranded without money across state lines and forced him to study car repair to get home to Franklin. He started EuroFix in 1999 in a one-car garage, later moving the shop to an old barn behind his house, and eventually expanding into multiple locations across Middle Tennessee through customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth.
According to Shop Fix Academy, Stokes founded the coaching and leadership organization in 2016 in Brentwood, Tennessee, and grew it into a national community of more than 1,500 independent auto repair shop owners.
“Aaron built this company to outlast him,” Shop Fix Academy CEO Michael Rosenberger said in a
statement posted to Facebook. The company said it has a continuity plan that keeps it fully operational and asked for privacy and prayers for the Stokes family, stressing that the family and businesses are not soliciting donations.
Huskey Building Supply, a buildings material supplier in Tennessee, said on
Instagram that its CEO Austin Huskey died unexpectedly and was “a fearless leader, a gracious man, a devoted father and husband, and a faithful follower of Christ.”
In a separate Facebook post, Habitat for Humanity Williamson-Maury
said it was “deeply saddened by the passing of Austin Huskey” and called him “a generous and kind man who made the world better simply by the way he showed up in it,” saying his impact would live on “in the homes built, the lives touched, and the community he helped strengthen.”
Friends and loved ones also honored 21-year-old Jakson Stokes. In a
Facebook tribute, Rhonda Valez wrote, “Jakson, from the very first moment we met you, we loved you,” describing him as carrying “such an easy light” and a “steady presence that felt rare.” She said he made their daughter Kalia “so incredibly happy” by steadying her “wild spirit while loving her fully and exactly as she is,” adding that he will “forever hold a sacred place in our hearts.”
An NTSB investigator arrived at the site of the crash on Friday afternoon to document the scene and examine the wreckage. The investigator retrieved data from the plane’s onboard avionics and planned to continue documenting the wreckage on Saturday before the plane is moved to a secure facility for further evaluation.
According to the plane maker's
website, the Epic E1000 is an all carbon fiber high-performance single-engine turboprop with a seating capacity of six passengers. It costs an estimated $4 million to $6 million, depending on the configuration options selected.
The NTSB said its investigation will focus on three main areas: the pilot, the aircraft, and the operating environment. Investigators plan to gather flight track data, recordings of any air traffic control communications, aircraft maintenance records, and weather forecasts and actual weather and lighting conditions around the time of the crash.
The NTSB will also review the pilot’s license, ratings, recent flight experience, and examine a 72-hour background of the pilot. The NTSB said it will collect witness statements, analyze electronic devices that could contain relevant information, and seek any available surveillance video, including from doorbell cameras.
Witnesses to the crash or those with surveillance video or other potentially useful information are being asked to contact the NTSB at
[email protected]. A preliminary report with factual information from the early phase of the investigation is expected within 30 days. A final report, including the probable cause and any contributing factors, is expected in 12 to 24 months.
