Pilot in fatal crash told controllers he couldn’t return to airport

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A pilot whose plane crashed into a Cheyenne storage facility on Memorial Day had told air traffic control that he couldn’t make it back to Cheyenne Regional Airport to land, a federal report said. The pilot was killed in the incident, which did not injure anyone on the ground. 
According to a two-page National Transportation Safety Board preliminary accident report released Monday, the pilot had, shortly after takeoff, declared an emergency with the ATC tower personnel. He reported that he had “an engine failure” and was about 4 miles south of the airport, NTSB recounted. 
He later stated that “he would not be able to land at the airport and intended to land in a field. He also stated that he was ‘on fire’ and asked ATC to send fire rescue,” the federal agency wrote. “Video cameras from a local business captured a portion of the accident sequence which showed the airplane descending, near vertical, with a right roll.” 
The Express 2000 RG plane crashed into Cheyenne Storage, 616 Crook Ave. The pilot had intended to fly to Texas, according to federal documents. 
“The initial impact point was a divot in the concrete. The wreckage path continued about 15 ft into a storage locker. A post crash fire ensued which consumed a majority of the airplane,” NTSB recounted. 
The pilot, who federal and local authorities have not identified, was said to have been its sole occupant. 
 
This story was published on June 8.