Police said Wednesday they are checking into reports that the fiery crash of a small plane may have been the result of a suicide-bound passenger who struggled for control of the craft. The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle streaked over the foothills west of Boulder on Sunday, slammed into a tree, then destroyed a vacant house, four garages and six parked cars, engulfing a large section of the residential block in flames. Killed were Gordon Larry Hood, 45, and the pilot, James Wilford ``Bill'' Layne, 56, police said. Eyewitnesses reported that the plane flipped onto its side and went into a power dive, behavior that might reflect a struggle going on in the cockpit, said police spokesman David Grimm. ``Was the pilot overpowered, was the pilot shot, was the pilot stabbed? We just don't know,'' Grimm said. ``As far as we can tell right now, the pilot just happens to be the unfortunate person who got hired that day.'' Police asked the National Transportation Safety Board to allow them back into the crash site after two out-of-state acquaintances told investigators that Hood was suicidal, Grimm said. ``The sources gave us information when we spoke to them that there were indications made to them that Mr. Hood was potentially contemplating suicide and in a manner similar to what occurred,'' Grimm said. ``We thought we were investigating an air accident, and it has turned into something else.'' Authorities released Hood's identity Wednesday, saying he is believed to be from Atlanta, but had recently moved to the Denver area. They believe Hood was a photographer. Layne, an employee of Intensive Air Care, a Denver-based private charter company, had taken Hood to Granby, a mountain community about 80 miles northwest of Denver, and the two were returning to Denver when the plane crashed. ``We don't necessarily get the impression that there was physical struggle going on,'' Grimm said. ``It could simply have been a struggle over control of the aircraft.'' Autopsy results released Tuesday showed Hood and Layne died of injuries suffered in the plane crash and not from other causes, according to Tom Faure, chief medical investigator of the Boulder County coroner's office. Grimm said Hood was seen carrying a briefcase into a post office in Granby, and investigators believe he mailed some cards or letters there. Police are asking anyone who may have received mail from Hood to contact them.
