UPDATED: Small plane crashes into Utah Lake on approach to the Provo Airport; victims ID’d
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- This photo shows the Provo boat marina at Utah Lake on the west end of Center Street just north of the Provo Airport.
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- This undated photo shows Micheal Hyrum Cox, at right in black jacket and sunglasses, the pilot of a plane that crashed into Utah Lake on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.
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- This undated photo shows Mark Johnson, the passenger killed Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in a plane crash on Utah Lake.
Courtesy Provo City
This photo shows the Provo boat marina at Utah Lake on the west end of Center Street just north of the Provo Airport.
The bodies of two men occupying a small plane that crashed into Utah Lake on Friday morning have been found, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday night.
The men have been identified as 43-year-old Michael Hyrum Cox of St. George and Mark Andrew Johnson, 46, of Washington, Sgt. Spencer Cannon told the Daily Herald.
The plane was approaching the Provo Airport when it was cleared to land but instead went into the water just after 10 a.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in an X post Friday afternoon that the plane was a Cirrus SR-22.
“We know that when the plane went down, we did have some witnesses that were in boats nearby that saw it, the plane, did hit the water pretty hard,” Sgt. Garett Dutson said in a briefing Friday afternoon.
Courtesy Utah County Sheriff's Office
This undated photo shows Micheal Hyrum Cox, at right in black jacket and sunglasses, the pilot of a plane that crashed into Utah Lake on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.
Those witnesses called authorities to alert them of the incident.
In a briefing Friday afternoon, Dutson told media that crews had located the wreckage near the boat harbor but at the time had not recovered the bodies of the two men.
A private company with a barge boat was attempting to pull the plane from the lake but it was submerged in 8.5 feet of water and mud, making efforts difficult, Dutson explained.
The rate of survivability of the two men was unknown early Friday afternoon, but officials said the likelihood is low. “From what we understand with the plane, as hard as it hit the water — for survival rates, it’s not looking very good,” Dutson told reporters.
Authorities didn’t confirm how far the small aircraft had traveled, but KUTV reported the flight originated from the St. George Regional Airport.
Courtesy Utah County Sheriff's Office
This undated photo shows Mark Johnson, the passenger killed Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in a plane crash on Utah Lake.
The Utah Lake State Park was closed to visitors most of Friday while recovery operations were underway.
Several crews from the sheriff’s office and its search and rescue team, Utah State Parks, the Provo and Saratoga Springs fire departments and Utah Highway Patrol dive team assisted on the lake.
The NTSB will conduct an investigation into what caused the plane to crash into the lake.
