Three people who died in a small plane crash in southwestern Colorado on Sunday all were pilots from Arizona, according to the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office.

Recovery operations began at sunrise Monday and were completed about 11 a.m., the sheriff’s office said.

The three victims were identified as Sherry Anderson, 57, and Sherman Anderson, 64, both of Phoenix; and Eric Durban, 48, of Mesa, Ariz.

The Andersons both were commercial airplane pilots, and Durban was a former military pilot, the sheriff said.

The Andersons are survived by a daughter. Durban is survived by his wife and two children.

The single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza took off from Telluride at 11:20 a.m. Sunday in light snow. Visibility was about 1 mile and winds were clam. The plane was en route to Cortez, about 75 miles southwest of Telluride.

The wreckage was found about a mile west of the Telluride airport, along a cliff band.

A contract helicopter and about a dozen trained emergency personnel carried out the technical recovery mission.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The NTSB is expected to begin recovering the plane Tuesday.