Boulder County Sheriff's Office searches for downed single-engine aircraft that departed Longmont Airport

The Boulder County Sheriff's Office launched a large-scale search-and-rescue operation Sunday evening for a private single-engine fixed-wing aircraft that departed Longmont Airport and was last tracked on radar over the Eldorado Springs area. The sheriff's office received a report from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at 9:42 p.m. Sunday that an aircraft may have gone down in the area, and search crews deployed overnight before resuming operations Monday morning.

Boulder County Public Information Officer Vinnie Montez confirmed Monday that wreckage had been found south of the Flatirons and north of Eldorado Canyon State Park, but officials said they could not yet confirm whether the wreckage is linked to the missing aircraft. Approximately 30 search crews are covering an area south of the city of Boulder, west of Highway 93, and extending westward to the Continental Divide. A temporary flight restriction has been put in place over the search zone, and Montez urged the public to refrain from flying drones near nearby trailheads.

Information about the aircraft's intended destination, tail number, and the number of people on board was not immediately available. Agencies participating in the operation include the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, Boulder County Emergency Services, Rocky Mountain Rescue, Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks Rangers, the Colorado Search and Rescue Association, medevac teams, and the Civil Air Patrol. Anyone who encounters wreckage while hiking in the southern or mountain areas of Boulder County is asked to call 911 or use a satellite phone.

A radar contact lost over mountainous terrain, a report from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, and a multi-agency ground and air search are the standard sequence when a small general-aviation flight disappears near rugged terrain, and this case has followed that path from the overnight deployment through Monday's expanded search area. The coordination across a sheriff's office, emergency services, volunteer rescue groups, state park rangers and the Civil Air Patrol reflects how search-and-rescue for light aircraft typically draws on resources well beyond aviation authorities, with a temporary flight restriction imposed to keep the airspace clear for search aircraft and protect the operation from drone interference.

What remains unresolved is whether the wreckage found south of the Flatirons belongs to the missing aircraft, and officials have not yet confirmed that link. The aircraft's tail number, intended destination and occupant count have not been released, and those details, once confirmed by the sheriff's office, would establish the scope of the incident.