Four men died when a single-engine Epic E1000 flew into Emerald Mountain near Steamboat Springs, Colorado, shortly after midnight on Friday, February 13, 2026. Routt County Sheriff Doug Scherar said search and rescue teams and the coroner recovered four bodies. “Last night, four bodies were recovered by the Routt County Sheriff’s Office, search and rescue and the coroner,” he told a local news outlet.
The turboprop had left Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Kansas City and was heading for Bob Adams Airport at Steamboat Springs. It hit the south-facing side of the mountain about three nautical miles south of the field, near the summit. The last ADS-B position was logged a little after 12:19 a.m. local time. Airport elevation is 6,882 feet, and Emerald Mountain rises to 8,200 feet.
Conditions and the aircraft
Automated reports from the airport around that hour showed visibility of five to 10 statute miles, light and variable winds, and broken to overcast cloud between roughly 1,400 and 4,100 feet above ground level.
The aircraft was a 2024 Epic E1000, registered as N98FK. FAA registry data shows it received its airworthiness certificate that March and belonged to ALS Aviation LLC of Franklin, Tennessee. A Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A engine powers the type, and a terrain proximity warning system and synthetic-vision display come standard. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, with the NTSB leading the probe. Crews secured the site and kept people out while they worked.
The victims
Shop Fix Academy, a Tennessee training company, said Sheriff Scherar identified those killed as 47-year-old Aaron Stokes, his 21-year-old son Jakson Stokes, his 21-year-old nephew Colin Stokes, and 38-year-old Austin Huskey of Huskey Building Supply.
Aaron Stokes, from Franklin, founded the repair company EuroFix and, in 2016, Shop Fix Academy, which coaches independent repair shop owners. The academy remembered him for his belief that when you “fix the owner, you fix the shop.” Its CEO, Michael Rosenberger, said: “Aaron built this company to outlast him. He had a comprehensive continuity plan in place, which allows our team to remain fully operational.”
Huskey Building Supply described its CEO and owner as “a fearless leader, a gracious man, a devoted father and husband, and a faithful follower of Christ.” The company said Taylor Huskey and the team would carry on his legacy in serving customers and vendors.
Shop Fix Academy added that the Stokes family has not opened a GoFundMe page or any other fundraiser, and it warned people to be wary of unverified campaigns. Any official effort, it said, will be announced through its verified channels.
Sources
- Colorado Epic E1000 Crash Near Steamboat Springs Kills Four
- Epic E1000 crash near Steamboat kills four
- Who was Aaron Stokes? Millionaire CEO and nephew Colin Stokes reputedly killed in Colorado plane crash
