Heather McRoberts (Patti's friend Lana's Niece)

A 19-year-old pilot, once profiled for her flying skills in a national magazine, was killed in a plane crash Sunday morning in a remote area of Boulder County.

Heather McRoberts and her 30-year-old passenger, David Para, were killed as they were flying to work at Mile High Gliding in Boulder. They were Boulder residents.

McRoberts was an experienced pilot who had already logged thousands of hours in an airplane despite her age. "Her heart was in flying all of her life," said her grandmother, Ann McRoberts. She planned to become a commercial airline pilot, just like her father. She was featured last year in ELLEgirl magazine. The article described her flying near a hurricane and flying antique planes from the 1940s.

McRoberts had more experience than some older pilots. On her 14th birthday, she flew a glider plane solo. At 16, she obtained her glider pilot's license.

Early Sunday morning, McRoberts was flying a small two-seater aircraft with Para in the passenger seat when it crashed near Rollins Pass, according to the Boulder County coroner. The cause of the accident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.