Four Dead After Small Plane Crashes In Utah County

UTAH COUNTY, Utah – Four people died in a plane crash in Utah County, according to officials with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.

UCSO Sgt. Spencer Cannon said four people were on board the small plane when it crashed Friday morning in the Box Elder Peak area, near American Fork Canyon.

The occupants of the plane were the pilot, Tyson Colby Brummett, 35, of Salt Lake City; Alex Blackhurst Ruegner, 35, of Riverton; and Ruegner’s aunt and uncle Elaine W. Blackhurst, 60, and Douglas Robinson Blackhurst, 62, both of Riverton.

The flight left the South Valley Regional Airport in West Jordan Friday morning.

UPDATE:

Thoughts going out to the family members of these four killed in the Utah County plane crash:

Tyson Brummett
Alex Ruegner
Doug and Elaine Blackhurst

Exclusive look at the crash from @KSL5TV chopper. pic.twitter.com/vwNdSAFRka

— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) July 3, 2020

A father and two of his sons, who were hiking in the area at the time of the crash, told police they saw the plane begin to turn, then spiral downward.

The father said the plane left his line of sight and he heard the impact of the crash moments later.

Authorities said the witness climbed down to the plane after calling 911 and confirmed all four victims had died on impact.

Utah County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue crews and the Lone Peak Fire District responded to the crash, along with the Utah Department of Public Safety’s helicopter, which helped shuttle crews to and from the scene.

“This was difficult area to access so we contacted the Utah Department of Public Safety and they came with their helicopters,” Cannon said.

Plane*

— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) July 3, 2020

All four bodies were recovered and taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Taylorsville.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the crash. NTSB officials said the downed aircraft was a Cessna 172.

Online records showed it was a small engine plane built in 1975.

NTSB is investigating the Friday, July 3, 2020 crash in Alpine, UT involving a Cessna 172. The NTSB is not traveling to the crash scene at this time.

— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) July 3, 2020

No cause for the crash had been given.