One dead, one injured in Arizona plane crash

PAGE, Ariz. — One person was killed and another was injured after a small plane crashed near Page, Arizona.

Officials with the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office said they were notified by the Page Airport around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday that a plane coming from San Martin, California crashed as it was approaching the airport.

“Exact location was unknown as the reporting party was a friend who had received the call from the surviving passenger, but the location was believed to be in the Paria Plateau area,” read a Facebook post from the CCSO.

Deputies were also told that the pilot had been killed and a passenger was injured.

After receiving some help from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, an approximate location of the plane was found and a crew from Classic Air in Page, Arizona took off.

Once the crew located the crash, they determined a second aircraft was needed to help extricate the patients.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety Ranger Helicopter and a deputy from the Fredonia, Arizona area also flew out to investigate the scene.

Classic Air officials confirmed the pilot, identified as Jim Petersen, had died and Uta Petersen, the passenger on the small plane, sustained injuries in the crash.

She was flown to St. George Utah Hospital, while Jim was transported to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.