A couple native to Galesburg were killed in a plane crash near Colorado Springs, Colorado this past Monday.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reported that 63-year-old Michael Fritzel and his wife, 63-year-old Paula Fritzel of Roanoke, Texas went down in a small single engine plane shortly after leaving the Colorado Springs airport Monday morning.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, crews extinguished the plane and a small grass fire near the North end of a runway.
A cause of that crash is still being investigated at this time, however National Transportation Safety Board officials indicate Michael radioed that he lost power to the engine. Both Fritzels’ ties to Galesburg date back to 1953.
Michael was a graduate of Costa High School, while Paula graduated at ROVA. They were married in Galesburg in 1976.
A senior air safety investigator told the Gazzete, that the Fritzel’s were believed to be flying in the area on a “personal family flight.”
They leave two children and two grandchildren.
