New information has been released on a plane crash that killed a family of four 9 miles north of Rifle earlier this month. The Makepeace family was traveling in a private plane on September 15th from their hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado, to Moab when the accident occurred. A report from the National Transportation Safety Board outlines that the pilot, 47-year-old Jeff Makepeace, was flying with low visibility and in high winds at the time of the crash. The report says that the plane “impacted trees and terrain while maneuvering in mountainous terrain” destroying the plane and that the pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. Family members had reported the airplane overdue and the accident site was visually located by search and rescue on September 16th.
The family was identified as 47-year-old Jeff Makepeace, 45-year-old Jennifer Makepeace, and their two children 10-year-old Addison and 10-year-old Benjamin.
