Peyton man killed in Colorado River gyroplane crash

Authorities have identified the two people killed after a helicopter-like aircraft crashed into a river in western Colorado on Saturday.

The Mesa County Coroner’s Office says the victims are Mark Shook, 61, of Peyton, Colorado, and Rebecca Jane Molle, 50, of Grand Junction, Colorado.

Shook died of multiple injuries from the crash, and Molle drowned after the crash, the coroner’s office said. Both deaths were ruled accidental.

The gyroplane went into the Colorado River shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department said.

The sheriff’s department said no one else was on board and no one on the ground was injured.

The FAA and the National Transportation Board are investigating.

Gyroplanes look like helicopters but are powered by propellers. Air flow created by the aircraft’s forward motion spins the rotors, which provide lift.