One dead after mapping plane crashes in Utah County

Authorities said one person is dead after a commercial photography plane scheduled to land Thursday in Provo crashed in Utah County.

Utah County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Spencer Cannon said crews discovered the plane and the deceased pilot Friday afternoon, near the top of Lake Mountain, west of Utah Lake.

The light fixed-wing aircraft was due to refuel in Provo between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday and then return to Caldwell, Idaho. A co-worker contacted emergency responders when the pilot missed that landing window, Cannon said in a news release.

Crews with the Utah Department of Public Safety and Civil Air Patrol searched for the plane Thursday and Friday. It was found just before 12:30 p.m. Friday.

The crash site was inaccessible to four-wheel drive vehicles so rescuers had to use a helicopter and small plane to retrieve the pilot’s body.

The medical examiner will identify the pilot and determine cause of death. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating why the plan crashed, Cannon said.

from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/2Kmnb7R