An elk hunter was shocked to find aircraft parts scattered on the ground near Laramie Peak in Converse County, and officials think they might have blown off a plane in mid-flight.
Chris Holden lives in Esterbrook, a small community in Converse County. He headed out with a friend on Wednesday in hopes of filling his bull elk tag for Hunt Area 7.
They didn’t get an elk. Instead, they stumbled upon scattered aircraft parts at about 1:30 p.m., called authorities and ended up staying out with investigators until about 1 a.m. Thursday.
‘Whoa, That’s Not Good’
“I was about a mile in, on the start of my hike. It’s in an area I’ve already hiked a dozen times this year. I saw what looked like aircraft parts and thought, ‘Woah, that’s not good,’” he told Cowboy State Daily.
“We kept hiking all the way to the top of the peak, to look through our binos (binoculars) and see if we could find any more debris, bodies, or whatever,” he said.
Holden said that whatever mishap had occurred, it had been recent.
“I had been in there two weeks prior, and the aircraft parts weren’t there then,” he said.
Later, the hunters were met at the site by sheriff’s deputies and investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Elk Hunter Chris Holden found these aircraft parts Wednesday afternoon near Laramie Peak in Converse County. It’s thought that they might have blown off a plane in mid-flight. (Courtesy Chris Holden) 
Elk Hunter Chris Holden found these aircraft parts Wednesday afternoon near Laramie Peak in Converse County. It’s thought that they might have blown off a plane in mid-flight. (Courtesy Chris Holden) 
Elk Hunter Chris Holden found these aircraft parts Wednesday afternoon near Laramie Peak in Converse County. It’s thought that they might have blown off a plane in mid-flight. (Courtesy Chris Holden) 
Elk Hunter Chris Holden found these aircraft parts Wednesday afternoon near Laramie Peak in Converse County. It’s thought that they might have blown off a plane in mid-flight. (Courtesy Chris Holden)
Likely An Engine Cowling
Converse County Undersheriff Chris Walsh told Cowboy State Daily that investigators were at the site until about 3 a.m. Thursday but didn’t find any more aircraft debris or other evidence of a crash.
He added that to his knowledge, the aircraft parts didn’t correspond with any missing aircraft reported to the FAA or NTSB.
Inquiries with the FAA and NTSB were not answered by publication time.
The most likely scenario is that the parts the elk hunters found had blown off a small airplane in mid-flight, and the plane later landed safely, Walsh said.
“It is very likely that what we’ve got is pieces of an engine cowling that blew off a small jet aircraft,” he said.
He added that the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the site search, and the aircraft parts were being inspected by Aero Center Casper.
Probably Cessna Parts
It’s likely that the parts came from a Cessna aircraft, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson stated in an email to Cowboy State Daily.
"The parts appear to be a lower engine cowling from an older Cessna Citation CJ2 airplane. Textron (Cessna's new name) has not found any service reports for a related incident yet. We will monitor it if any new information comes in,” he stated.
Experienced pilot Matt Guthmiller of Alpine, Wyoming, told Cowboy State Daily that it’s rare for any parts to come of aircraft mid-flight, but if that’s what happened, it would make sense that an engine cowling is what Holden discovered.
“I would guess it (a cowling) is probably the most common thing to come off an airplane, in part because they’re designed to open so you can get to the engine, but it’s extremely rare,” he said.
Elk Hunter Chris Holden found these aircraft parts Wednesday afternoon near Laramie Peak in Converse County. It’s thought that they might have blown off a plane in mid-flight. (Courtesy Chris Holden) 
Elk Hunter Chris Holden found these aircraft parts Wednesday afternoon near Laramie Peak in Converse County. It’s thought that they might have blown off a plane in mid-flight. (Courtesy Chris Holden) 
Elk Hunter Chris Holden found these aircraft parts Wednesday afternoon near Laramie Peak in Converse County. It’s thought that they might have blown off a plane in mid-flight. (Courtesy Chris Holden) 
Elk Hunter Chris Holden found these aircraft parts Wednesday afternoon near Laramie Peak in Converse County. It’s thought that they might have blown off a plane in mid-flight. (Courtesy Chris Holden)
At Least He Found Shed Antlers
Area 7 bull elk tags are difficult to draw, and Wednesday was the last day Holden had free to hunt. Thursday was the last day of the season, but he had to return to work.
Despite not filling his coveted bull elk tag, Holden said Wednesday will still go down as one of his most memorable days in the field.
And he didn’t return home completely empty-handed.
“I did find some sheds (shed antlers), so I did well there,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
