Four killed in Utah crash of plane from North Las Vegas Airport
Four people were killed when a single-engine plane registered to a Las Vegas company crashed Tuesday near Zion National Park, according to the Kane County Sheriff's Office in Utah.
The Cirrus SR20 departed North Las Vegas Airport destined for Bryce Canyon, Utah, shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday, said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration Western-Pacific Region.
Kane County authorities had not released the identities of the dead by Wednesday afternoon.
Gregor said the company that owns the aircraft, Hunt Aviation, reported it missing when it failed to arrive at Bryce Canyon.
Hunt Aviation is at 4974 S. Rainbow Boulevard, Suite 100, according to the FAA Registry, but no phone number is listed.
The Kane County Sheriff's Office reported the fatal crash in a news release, saying a signal from the plane's emergency transmitter beacon was received at the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center in Florida.
The center contacted the Civil Air Patrol in St. George, Utah, which dispatched a search plane.
The plane spotted the wreckage at
7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a mountainous area of western Kane County near Zion National Park, 18 miles north of Highway 9 and East North Fork Road.
Kane County sheriff's deputies led a search party to the remote area, but because of darkness, the search was called off at 1 a.m.
Local authorities resumed the search at daybreak Wednesday and reported that all four on board were killed.
Kane County officials requested that the Utah Highway Patrol dispatch a helicopter to recover the bodies.
Gregor said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the accident. Officials from both agencies were expected to arrive at the crash site today.
It was the second fatal plane crash in four days in southern Utah. A single-engine Cessna 172 crashed Saturday 300 yards from the runway at St. George Municipal Airport, where it had made a rapid ascent after taking off.
Four Utah men were killed in the crash: Colby Hafen, 28, and Christopher Chapman, 20, both of Santa Clara; Tanner Holt, 23, of Washington City; and Alexander Metzger, 22, of St. George.
Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.
