Victims identified in Durango plane crash

Two people who were killed when the vintage plane they were in crashed in Durango have been identified.

Monie Schlarb confirmed to The Durango Herald that her husband, Michael Schlarb, and John Earley, who owned the aircraft, died in Friday morning’s crash at the Durango-La Plata County Airport.

The P-51 Mustang was taking off when it crashed, but Sheriff’s spokesman Dan Bender says it’s unclear what went wrong. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.

Schlarb and Earley were the only ones in the plane.

Before Friday’s crash, there were only 123 P-51 Mustangs in the United States, according to the Federal Aviation Administration registry.