A 22-year-old Bay Area flight instructor who had just begun to realize his dream of becoming a commercial pilot was among two people killed in a small-plane crash in Colorado earlier this month.
Niles Tilenius of San Mateo County died Oct. 19 when the single-engine aircraft he was flying went down near the runway at Erie Municipal Airport, about 25 miles northwest of Denver, according to the Weld County Coroner’s Office. William Johnston, 21, of Florida, was also killed.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating what caused the plane to crash…