Colorado crash survivor felt plane 'falling out of the sky'

By John Stroud, Vail Daily

Published May 25, 2008 at 11:15 p.m.

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Jonathan Holton, 23, was on his way to his best friend's graduation.

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Jonathan Holton has been in sticky situations before - climbing sheer rock faces, skiing the Alaskan backcountry, training as an alpine rescuer.

But nothing really could have prepared him fully when he found himself on a mountainside after a small plane crash that fatally injured the pilot, who also happened to be the father of his best friend.

Barry Maggert, 47, a structural engineer and political activist in Carbondale, was killed when his Cessna 182 had engine trouble en route from Glenwood Springs to Boulder on May 8 and went down in the mountains outside Black Hawk.

He and Holton, also of Carbondale, were on their way to the college graduation of Maggert's son, Lee, at the University of Colorado the next day.

"Falling out of the sky . . . there's really no way to describe it," said Holton, 23. "You know that feeling you get in your stomach when you're in a jet and you enter some turbulence? I had that for 4,000 feet. You just feel completely helpless."

Alpine rescue knowledge

The helpless feeling continued at times on the ground after he realized that while he was OK for the most part - he had suffered a broken ankle and other bumps and bruises - he was limited in what he could do for Maggert.

"The real story is Jonathan," Maggert's wife, Renee Maggert, said at her husband's memorial service.

Holton had alpine rescue training experience, having worked last year with the Western State College Mountain Rescue Team, which his brother, Jason, heads.

"Jonathan had the forethought to take Barry from the plane and make a bed of pine needles and put extra clothing on him to keep him warm," Renee Maggert said. "He ran up and down the hill every 15 minutes, with a broken foot, to keep in contact with emergency responders (via cell phone) and then would come back to check on Barry."

Maggert clung to life for about a half-hour after the crash before he died.

"I would not have wanted anybody else to be with my husband when he passed away," Renee said of Holton. "I'm sorry that he had to experience that, but I'm glad he was there."

"I had the opportunity to drive over to Boulder, but I had been on the road for the last month- and-a-half, up to Alaska and back, so when I heard Barry was flying over I thought I'd go over with him," Holton said.

It was to be just one of many flights he'd taken with Maggert and his sons, twins Lee and Bryant, 23, and Taylor, 21.

'Hit as soft as we could'

Holton told National Transportation Safety Board investigators that after taking off from the Glenwood Springs Airport around 3 p.m. on May 8, the plane entered clouds with light snow at about 16,000 feet after passing the Eagle County Airport. It was at about that time that the plane began having problems maintaining altitude and the engine began to sputter.

Maggert told Holton they were experiencing a fuel mixture problem and began adjusting the controls.

"Barry was on it the whole time. . . . He was doing everything he could," Holton said. "The plane began to nose over and was descending pretty fast. At one point we got blown backwards and were actually pointing back to the west. That's when I knew things weren't good."

The plane crashed at about 3:45 p.m. into a wooded area at 10,400 feet.

"(Barry) had gotten the air speed slowed down as much as he could, so we hit as soft as we could," said Holton, who remained conscious after impact.

"It was like a bad dream. All I felt was snow through the windshield when we hit. I had a cut on my forehead and my shoulder was hurt, and I pretty much knew my ankle was broken."

Holton was also covered with fuel that was leaking into the cockpit from the tank in the passenger-side wing. He exited the plane and went around the tail to pull Maggert from the plane.

Maggert suffered what would prove to be a fatal head injury and was unconscious, Holton said.

Longtime family friends

Back home amid the support of friends and family, Holton is concentrating on getting better and making sure the Maggert family continues to have the support they need.

"I've known them since preschool," said Holton, who graduated with Lee and Bryant from Roaring Fork High School in 2003. He graduated last year from Montana State University.

"I'm just concentrating on getting myself better and hanging out with the Maggerts . . . just be a friend, let things sort out."

"All things considered, I walked away from that plane crash," Holton offered. "All you have is time to think about it. I feel glad I was there, and I've been able to take the uncertainty away from a lot of the questions people have had.

"There's really not a lot of coulda, shoulda, woulda. . . . I wish Barry was here, but I'm glad I'm still here. And the rescue workers, those guys rock. They deserve more support than they get, that's for sure."

Holton had considered pursuing a pilot's license at some point, though his color blindness likely would have prevented that.

At any rate, he's not too interested in going anywhere near a small aircraft for a while.

"That may change in time, but not right now," he said.

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