Pilot killed in plane crash in remote Utah County

UTAH COUNTY, Utah – The pilot of a small plane is dead following a plane crash in remote Utah County. Investigators spent most of Friday evening at the crash site, about four miles southwest from Saratoga Springs near Lake Mountain.

“You can’t see it anywhere from down here,” said Sgt. Spencer Cannon with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. “It is very difficult to get to the plane.”

The plane was out of Caldwell, Idaho, as part of a commercial photography operation said to be taking photos in the Cedar Valley area. The pilot was due to return Thursday but never checked in.

“When they didn’t hear from him, they became concerned and sent out an email to see if anyone had heard from him and nobody had,” Sgt. Cannon said.

The Civil Air Patrol began the search then contacted The Utah County Sheriff’s Department.

“We did have one of our search and rescue volunteers who has one of those bush kind of planes with the big tires,” Sgt. Cannon said. “He was able to land up there and help us confirm the site.”

Authorities say the pilot was the only person on board.

“We did have some information about where he was last known to be so we were able to generalize the area to this part of Utah County,” Sgt. Cannon said.

The plane was believed to be heading towards the Provo airport in an attempt to refuel.

Authorities tell us they know who the pilot was because of the company he was flying for and the tail number of the plane. The NTSB plans to take over the investigation beginning Saturday.