Second Pilot Flying In Area Reported Plane Crash In Remote Cache County
Jul 19, 2018, 7:51 PM | Updated: 9:31 pm
HYRUM, Utah – A 40-year-old Utah pilot was hospitalized after he survived a plane crash in the remote mountains of Cache County. Had it not been for another pilot flying in the area, the crash could have gone undiscovered for a long time.
Officials said the single-engine fixed-wing Piper PA-18 Super Cub went down around 10:15 a.m. Thursday about 4 miles east of Hardware Ranch in Blacksmith Fork Canyon, about 30 miles northeast of Ogden.
The plane crashed in a very remote part of Cache County where there was little to no access. Chopper 5 obtained exclusive pictures of the crash site.
“He was in a very remote area of the canyon,” said Cache County Sheriff Chad Jensen. “It’s a very thick, heavily-wooded area, (with) deep canyons.”
Sheriff Jensen said the pilot was lucky another pilot flying in the area saw the crash, and called it in.
KSL reporter Jed Boal, at Hardware Ranch in Blacksmith Fork Canyon, about four miles from where a small plane crashed on Thursday, July 19, 2018.
“The other pilot probably saved his life, regardless of what his injuries are,” the sheriff said. “The fact that he was able to report it and we were able to dispatch LifeFlight without even being on scene? That’s incredible.”
The injured pilot was stable and conscious at that time.
A 40-year-old Utah a man injured in a plane crash in the remote mountains of Cache County. See exclusive video from @KSLChopper5 Why he was lucky to be saved at five and six @KSL5TV @CacheSheriff pic.twitter.com/Q5OGYrepy8
— Jed Boal (@jedboal) July 19, 2018
“I know he had injuries to his legs, his arms, and his face,” said Sheriff Jensen. “I don’t know the extent of his injuries.“
There was no one else on board the plane, which remained well intact aside from a broken wing.
The pilot of the plane that crashed in Cache County was stabilized and flown to a hospital in the Wasatch Front. Here is the latest update: pic.twitter.com/NW6eN26SGq
— CacheSheriff (@CacheSheriff) July 19, 2018
Investigators did not yet know where the man was headed, and they have not released his name.
“He actually never made a call,” said Sheriff Jensen. “Whether his beacon went off or made a call for help, the only way we got notified was from the other pilot who had witnessed the crash.”
The Sheriff’s Office planned to turn the investigation over to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, which will try to determine the cause of the crash.
The FAA had no new details to release Thursday afternoon.
