LAKE POWELL, Arizona, Aug. 16, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — New details have been released about the single-engine sightseeing plane that crashed Saturday into the Arizona part of Lake Powell.
Witnesses to the crash called the National Park Service Dispatch at about 5:20 p.m., according to a statement from Utah’s Kane County Sheriff’s Office.
“The tour plane out of Page, Arizona, was carrying a pilot and six French national tourists,” says a KCSO statement released Monday night. “The pilot reported an engine issue before the plane went down in the lake. The pilot and witnesses were able to get four of the passengers out and into boats.
“They were then transported to a nearby shore where helicopters from Classic Aviation were able to pick them up and transport three with serious injuries to St. George Regional Hospital. The other two were transported by boat to Antelope Marina and then to Page Hospital.”
Two passengers never made it out of the small plane, the KCSO statement says.
“Unfortunately, two of the passengers died and remained in the submerged plane.”
Agencies that responded to the scene, and the National Park Service was able to locate the submerged plane in about 120 feet of water, the statement says.
“The Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation used an underwater ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) to take pictures and establish a line for divers from the Utah Department of Public Safety to recover the bodies of the two deceased individuals.”
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will handle the investigation on the plane crash, the news release says.
“Kane County Sheriff’s Office will be responsible for the retrieval of the bodies and the death investigation.”
This case remains under investigation, and “it will be some time before the case is resolved,” the sheriff’s statement says. “Incidents like this are very difficult because of circumstances and terrain. Many thanks to the witnesses who responded quickly to help the survivors and provide information to help locate the submerged plane.”
The crash happened northwest of Page, Arizona, the home base for American Aviation, Inc., identified as the owner/operator of the plane, a Cessna 207, according to Jet Careers website.
The statement offered condolences to the families of those killed in the plane crash.
