Colorado Doctor and Daughter Die in Plane Crash During Erratic Flight

A Colorado doctor who also worked as a trapeze artist died with his 3-year-old daughter when his plane crashed during an erratic three-hour flight over the Rocky Mountains on Oct. 4, according to the National Transit Safety Board’s preliminary report.

Dr. Aaron Gingrich, 43, a professor in emergency medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz, took his daughter, Isabella, on the flight. The plane reached altitudes ranging from more than 15,000 feet to as low as 7,375 feet above sea level in the minutes before crashing in mountainous terrain near Eldorado Springs, at an elevation of approximately 7,360 feet.

Audio recordings obtained by KDVR indicate that another pilot had expressed concern about Gingrich's "dangerous takeoff" from Vance Brand Airport in Longmont. "Hey Two Gulf Lima, thanks so much for cutting us off in the traffic pattern. Appreciate it," the pilot stated. "We also have someone up uh upwind 2-9 who’s being really dangerous and put us off in pattern. So we’re just getting out of here."

First responders were alerted to the crash by the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at 9:42 p.m. The wreckage was discovered the following morning. The NTSB is continuing its investigation into the cause of the crash.

Gingrich, a graduate of Columbia University, had previously worked as an ER doctor in multiple states and countries. He obtained his private pilot’s license in 2016 and had also opened a ketamine treatment clinic in Texas in 2022. He performed with the Switzerland-based trapeze group Apesanteur Trapèze Volant.

A GoFundMe campaign has been established to support Isabella’s mother, identified as Lauren Willcox.