US - Multiple people trapped underwater after small plane crashes into Utah Lake, 27 September, 2024

[Dotta]

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"Several people are trapped underwater after a single-engine plane crashed into a lake in Utah on Friday.

'We've got crews of personnel out on the lake.
They're just confirming some things.

The plane's in about eight and a half feet of water',
said Jess Campbell, Saratoga Springs Fire Department chief.

'The likelihood of anybody still being viable is diminishing'.

Officials have not said how many people were on the plane
when it crashed into Lake Utah in Saratoga Springs."

 

[vls12345]

Plane crashes into Utah Lake; 2 occupants 'submerged for an extended amount of time'

A plane crashed into Utah Lake on Friday, resulting in its occupants being

www.ksl.com

 

[Dotta]

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[GraceG]

I've been on this forum for about 5+ years. Former airline pilot, now working in LE related field. The cirrus has a ballistic parachute - sounds like it deployed, but that only helps with a fair bit of altitude. If the airplane was at a low altitude when they either had (1) engine failure or (2) a stall (despite what you read in the media ALL the time, plane engines rarely "stall", it's the wing - it's the name for when the wing loses lift due to insufficient airspace or a high angle of bank at a certain speed, known as an accelerated stall) the parachute wouldn't have helped.

If they stalled and dove into the water when the wing quit flying or stalled and spun in (as opposed to attempted a water landing), it's like hitting a wall in your vehicle at 70+ mph and aircraft are designed to be lightweight, not built like cars to protect the occupants. The pilot and passenger likely died or were rendered unconscious on impact with the water, and didn't suffer. If the pilot had airspeed to keep flying, but not enough power and attempted a "ditching" they might have survived but from what I read this does not appear to be what was witnessed.

I couldn't find either of them in the www.faa.gov airman records - not uncommon sometimes pilots don't update their state of residence so a search won't find them using their current name and residence state, and sometimes the media mis-spells a name. On Monday the FAA site updates the accident data for the weekend - that will give some more information on the details and the aircraft registration info.

My condolences to their family - it's still safer than driving, as I always told my parents when I was starting out, but accidents do happen, tragically so.

 

[GraceG]

UPDATE: the FAA.gov website pulled up the pilot info this morning (their system may have been doing a system upgrade or something when I checked on the weekend but it's there now). Small plane crashes in Utah Lake, two men dead, police say Mr. Cox was a private pilot (small single engine airplanes). His FAA medical was expired (it's good for 24 months if over the age of 40) based on the records though he might have had one very recently and it just hasn't posted yet (that happens) BUT, the other person on board, Mr. Johnson, reported as a "passenger" is also a licensed pilot with a current medical so legally he could be the Pilot in Command of the Flight. That may be a mess for the attorney's to deal with (who was actually flying, versus who was the legal pilot in command) but it will probably be a year before the NTSB has a probable cause. The initial NTSB reports are taking a week or more to load to the www.ntsb.gov website (Look under "CAROL" monthly lists). The aircraft was a Cirrus SR21, NOT a sport aircraft category (sport aircraft don't require a medical to fly, just a drivers license plus appropriate airman certificate).

Air Traffic Control recording from Listen to Live ATC (Air Traffic Control) Communications | LiveATC.net is up and someone has put the recording on youtube with a link to the actual recording. It looks like the crashed Cirrus 31AZ crashed on a base leg to final, did NOT declare an emergency. Another aircraft reported the aircraft had broken apart on the crash. Likely not survivable.

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[Dotta]

Another crash!

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"Five people including a child
were killed when
a single-engine plane crashed in North Carolina

Witnesses reported that the plane was attempting to land at the airport
when it caught on fire causing the airplane to burn.

The Kill Devil Hills Fire Department and other local fire departments were at the scene,
according to the National Parks Service release.

The plane crashed approximately 90 miles south of Virginia Beach, Virginia."

 

[abstr]

This is so sad. I have a pilot in my family and feel this must have been such an awful death. I pray for his loved ones.

 

[vls12345]

Another crash!

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"Five people including a child
were killed when
a single-engine plane crashed in North Carolina

Witnesses reported that the plane was attempting to land at the airport
when it caught on fire causing the airplane to burn.

The Kill Devil Hills Fire Department and other local fire departments were at the scene,
according to the National Parks Service release.

The plane crashed approximately 90 miles south of Virginia Beach, Virginia."

For the NC crash, here is some more info:

Marietta man, 6-year-old among 5 dead in North Carolina plane crash

The NTSB is still investigating what led up to the crash.

www.wsbtv.com

 

[Dotta]

OMG
Another one
RIP to all victims.

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