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WEBER COUNTY, Utah, Nov. 17, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Southbound Interstate 15 in the Roy area is closed Sunday afternoon after a small plane crashed at the side of the freeway.
A tweet from the Utah Department of Transportation at 3:40 p.m. said all lanes of southbound I-15 are closed at mile post 342 at 31st Street. Traffic is being diverted and drivers are being encouraged to use an alternate route.
Stuart Hackworth, PIO for Roy City Police Department, told Gephardt Daily a single-engine Arrow airplane from Ogden-Hinckley Airport with two men aboard was unable to gain altitude and hit an advertising sign alongside I-15 and then crashed onto the freeway side of the fence at about 4500 South.
Hackworth said one occupant was transported by AirMed medical helicopter to an area hospital, while the other was transported by Roy City Fire Department ambulance. Both men are in critical condition at this time, but are expected to survive.
He said officials will contact family members before any further information is released about the occupants.
Hackworth added the plane did not hit any vehicles on the freeway, but there is some debris on southbound I-15 and on the west side of the fence that divides the freeway and Roy City.
He said the plane, which has tail number N3206R, was taking off southbound from the airport. Initial information indicates the plane may have been an aircraft used for student training.
Utah Highway Patrol tweeted at 5 p.m.: “I-15 southbound will remain closed for some time, please use alternative routes. I-84 and surface streets as needed or avoid the area completely if possible.”
Northbound traffic on I-15 in that area is down to two lanes and Airport Road from 440 South to 480 South in Roy is also closed, and is likely to be closed until approximately 7 p.m.
The cause of the crash is under investigation; Federal Aviation Administration officials are on their way to the scene.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information is made available.
It seems that there have been an inordinate number of private airplane crashes this year, what do the stats say about this?