Frederick Man Dies in New Mexico Plane Crash
A Frederick man, Doug Hoverter, and an unidentified woman died in a plane crash on Aug. 13 in northeast New Mexico.
According to Chris Ramirez, spokesperson for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, Hoverter’s business, aircraft incident investigation firm Aeroscope Inc., confirmed his death. The Federal Aviation Administration reports that Hoverter owned the crashed single-engine Beech M35, tail number N951T.
New Mexico State Police Officer Wilson Silver stated that the crash claimed the lives of Hoverter and another woman who remains unnamed. Online flight trackers indicate the aircraft last pinged near Sierra Grande, an extinct stratovolcano with a peak elevation of about 8,720 feet.
The exact crash site was determined when authorities located the wreckage around 4:15 p.m. the next day. The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating, as confirmed by NTSB spokesperson Peter C. Knudson, who noted the crash occurred in “mountainous terrain.”
Flight tracking service FlightAware reported that Hoverter departed Erie Municipal Airport for Pueblo Memorial Airport at 7:39 p.m. He then took off for Uvalde, Texas, at 10:10 p.m. before the crash occurred around 11 p.m.
Hoverter was an aircraft failure investigator with over 500 investigations at Aeroscope since 2008. He held licenses as an airline transport pilot, flight instructor, and mechanic, and had experience flying various antique and experimental aircraft.
Originally Published: August 20, 2025, at 9:59 AM MDT