Plane Owned by John Denver Crashes; Pilot Dies

The pilot of a small plane owned by singer John Denver was killed Sunday afternoon when it crashed into Monterey Bay, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said, but the identity of the pilot was not yet known.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Aitkins said late Sunday that a lifeguard had recovered the pilot’s body. Denver, 53, is a licensed pilot and has a vacation home in Monterey.

“They cannot make an ID from the body,” Aitkins said late Sunday.

Aitkins said the ground crew at the Monterey Airport confirmed that Denver owns the plane, a single-engine one-seater. It crashed into the bay near the town of Pacific Grove about 5:40 p.m. Sunday.

The National Transportation Safety Board late Sunday dispatched an investigator to Monterey.

Jeanie Tomlinson, managing director of Wind Star, the environmental group founded by Denver, told the Associated Press she believed the singer was in Colorado on Sunday.

“To my knowledge, he’s here in Aspen,” Tomlinson told the wire service.

She also told the Reuters news service: “We’re trying to track him down.”

Denver’s wholesome image and folk-tinged melodies made him a huge star in the 1970s. Among his hits: “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” “Rocky Mountain High,” “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” and “Annie’s Song.”