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A quirky Colorado doctor who moonlighted as a circus trapeze artist died alongside his 3-year-old daughter when he crashed his plane on a dangerous joyride, according to officials.
Aaron Gingrich, a professor in emergency medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz, took his daughter Isabella on an erratic three-hour trip on his single-engine aircraft when it crashed in the Rocky Mountains late Oct. 4, according to the National Transit Safety Board’s preliminary report.
The 43-year-old dad — who also performs with circus group Apesanteur Trapèze Volant — was flying erratically around northern Colorado for almost three hours, reaching heights of more than 15,000 feet and as low as 7,375 feet above sea level just two minutes before it crashed.
Gingrich, who once ran a ketamine treatment clinic, finally crashed in mountainous terrain at about 7,360 feet near Eldorado Springs, where his and his daughter’s bodies were found in the wreckage.
There was no controller in the tower when he took off from Vance Brand Airport in Longmont, and another pilot scolded Gingrich for his “dangerous takeoff,” audio recordings obtained by KDVR show
“Hey Two Gulf Lima, thanks so much for cutting us off in the traffic pattern. Appreciate it,” the pilot said sarcastically.
“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,” the pilot said.
The recording didn’t indicate whether Gingrich had used his radio.
The cause of the crash or why Gingrich was flying in so erratically remains under investigation.
First responders first learned about the crash at 9:42 p.m. from an alert from the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, the Denver Post reported.
The wreck was discovered just after 10 a.m. the next day about 4 miles from Mountain View Fire Rescue Station Nine, where elevations in the area are roughly between 6,500 and 7,500 feet, according to the paper.
The airplane crashed into rising terrain about 300 ft below a ridgeline, the NTSB said.
Gingrich, a Columbia University graduate, was a professor at the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz, the school confirmed.
He received his private pilot’s license in 2016, according to an online profile viewed by the Daily Mail, and had worked in five states and six countries as an ER doctor. He previously opened a ketamine treatment clinic in Texas in 2022, according to the profile.
He also performed with a Switzerland-based trapeze group, Apesanteur Trapèze Volant, whose leaders issued a heartfelt statement about their fellow circus performer.
“Your positive energy, your kindness, your beautiful way of sharing smiles, laughters and music will be remembered. Thank you, you will be deeply missed. We hope you’re flying and doing flips wherever you are now,” the group said in a social media post.
The post included photos of Gingrich beaming while flying through the air during a performance.
Friends and family launched a GoFundMe to support Isabella’s grieving mother, identified as Lauren Willcox.
A GoFundMe has since been set up to support Isabella’s mother, identified as Lauren Willcox.
“There are no words for the loss of sweet Bella, who was only three years old,” the webpage states.
“Our hearts are broken for Lauren as she faces the unimaginable pain of losing her little girl.”