Photo of small plane crash in Centerville, Utah. Photo credit: Paul Nelson/KSL NewsRadio
UPDATE: Centerville police say one of the men involved in the crash has died from his injuries.
CENTERVILLE – Two men in a plane were rushed to the hospital after their small engine aircraft crashed in a field in Centerville near Tippets Lane just west of Legacy Highway. Two good Samaritans were also injured as they rushed to the burning wreckage to help.
Investigators say the crash happened just before 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon, and people driving along Legacy Highway could see the plane falling and turning as it went down.
KSL Newsradio reporter Paul Nelson provided this live update from the scene:
Centerville Police Chief Paul Child says, “The witnesses on scene described an aircraft that was descending in elevation and was banking hard, then crashed into the field.”
Child says some witnesses decided to help the people in the plane. “There were a couple of individuals who jumped out of their car and ran into the field,” he says.
As the good Samaritans approached the plane, it reportedly started burning. The flames started a small field fire with reportedly scorched one to two acres, but crews were able to knock it down, quickly.
Child says he’s not sure if the witnesses pulled the passengers out of the plane or if the men were able to get out on their own, but, they had to be taken to the hospital in serious-critical condition.
“They were both extricated from the aircraft and transported. One was transported by air, one was transported by ground ambulance,” Child says. “The two rescuers, civilian rescuers, received some smoke inhalation and burns.”
KSL TV is reporting the plane left from Bountiful and was supposed to land in Ogden. The FAA and the NTSB will have to determine why it went down.
Contributing: Simone Seikaly
