Utah Sees Several Deadly Aircraft Crashes In 2020
Dec 29, 2020, 10:30 PM | Updated: 10:31 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – 2020 has had plenty of sadness and grief, both around the world and here at home.
It was significantly heartbreaking for several short plane rides that ended in tragedy.
One of those disasters came out of the blue.
A home was burning and everyone was scrambling after a plane crashed in a West Jordan neighborhood.
“We pulled one of the victims out of the plane across the street. The man was stuck in the plane, we couldn’t get him out,” said a woman who witnessed the crash in her neighborhood.
West Jordan Homeowner Dies From Injuries Sustained In Plane Crash
Despite the best efforts from people on the ground to help the survivors, the pilot and two others on board were killed. The homeowner didn’t last the week.
“It’s just very hard and the mom just laying there,” the witness said.
The crash in July would have been enough tragedy for an entire year, but just 15 days into 2020, a crash in Roy left another community on edge.
“I felt a huge plume of heat, yeah. And debris flying around me,” said a woman who saw and felt it.
A police officer said, “He was scheduled to land at the airport. What went wrong, we don’t know yet.”
The pilot did not survive. He was one of several people throughout the year to be killed or badly injured in air mishaps from Cedar City to Duchesne County to Wasatch County earlier this month.
A gyrocopter took off from the Heber Valley Airport only to encounter trouble 30 seconds later.
“Dang! You see he’s full right rudder,” a witness described.
The gyrocopter plummeted to the ground leading to yet another death.
An investigator said, “We’re very fortunate that there was only one person involved and that it did miss other traffic on the roadway.”
It may be hard to make sense of any of these awful events.
“I definitely see life a lot differently than I did before,” said a woman at a vigil for the pilot. “Every moment is one we cannot take for granted in our life.”
As neighbors joined friends and loved ones in remembering those who were lost all anyone can do is hope next year will be a better year.
