It took months for a search party to recover the aircraft and Craig D. The crash occurred at 13,200 feet (4,000 m) of elevation. It zig-zagged in the air before impacting the mountainous terrain about 15 miles (24 km) SW of Vail, Colorado, on Gold Dust Peak in a remote part of Eagle County. His jet was last spotted in the air about 100 miles (160 km) west of Denver. During the flight, Button’s jet was spotted numerous times by observers on the ground.Ĭaptain Button turned off his transponder, which made the aircraft difficult to track. He flew in a northeasterly direction towards the Four Corners area of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Button unexpectedly broke formation near Gila Bend, Arizona. His jet was armed with four Mk-82 bombs, 60 magnesium flares, 120 metal chaff canisters and 575 rounds of 30-millimeter ammunition. He was operating a fully loaded single-seat A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft. On the day in question, Captain Button was participating in a training mission.
