United Pilot, Wife Die in Honeymoon Plane Crash

Small plane crashed in Rocky Mountains
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 8, 2020 4:57 AM CDT
Honeymooning Pilot Dies in Plane Crash
The San Miguel sheriff tweeted this photo of the crash scene.   (San Miguel Sheriff)

United Airilines is mourning two employees who died in a private plane crash on their way home from their honeymoon. Pilot and flight instructor Costas John Sivyllis, 30, was killed along with flight attendant Lindsey Vogelaar, 33, when their Beechcraft Bonanza crashed just outside Telluride, Colorado, on Monday, USA Today reports. They had gotten married in the small Rocky Mountain town just four days earlier. The Florida residents "had eloped to Telluride for a small wedding and adventure-filled honeymoon that they were documenting online for friends and families to follow," the San Miguel County Sheriff's office tweeted. They were the only two people on the aircraft.

Relatives say the couple had nicknamed their plane "Baby Blue." The couple, who had been together since 2016, had originally intended to get married in Greece but the pandemic forced them to change their plans. "They met overseas. He was the pilot for that flight, and she was flight attendant," sister Courtney Vogelaar tells Fox 17. "A true fairy tale," her father says of their meeting. The sheriff says the crash, which happened 10 to 15 minutes after take-off, is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. A United spokesperson says the airline is "deeply saddened to learn of this tragedy involving two members of the United Airlines family" and it has offered assistance to their relatives. (More United Airlines stories.)

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