Utah: Small Plane Crash

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Canoe

Monday, January 15, 2001

Small plane crashes in Great Salt Lake

By PAUL FOY-- The Associated Press

TOOELE, Utah (AP) -- A twin-engine plane returning from a skydiving trip crashed into the Great Salt Lake, killing all nine people on board.

The plane was on a flight from Mesquite, Nev., when it went down in about 5 feet of water around 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Airport officials didn't know it was missing until a relative of a passenger called hours later.

Helicopters and boats were used to recover the bodies of the pilot and eight passengers early Monday, said Frank Scharmann, a spokesman for the Tooele County sheriff's office.

The 35-year-old Beech 65 plane was headed for Tooele County Airport, about five miles south of the lake.

Airport officials were not expecting the plane because the pilot had not registered a flight plan, so radar tape recordings had to be checked to determine the time of the crash.

The tapes indicated the plane was banking and that it may have spiraled into the lake when it crashed about a mile offshore, Scharmann said.

Snow fell intermittently throughout the day Sunday, but there was no immediate indication if the weather contributed to the crash.

The passengers were members of a group called Skydive Salt Lake.

They had spent the weekend jumping during the day and camping in sleeping bags at the Mesquite Municipal Airport at night, airport manager Ray Wilson said. He said they took off on the flight back to Tooele about two hours before the crash.

Names of the victims were not released pending notification of families.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), January 15, 2001


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