HEBER CITY, Utah, Dec. 17, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials have identified a gyrocopter pilot killed when his craft crashed near Heber City Wednesday afternoon.
The deceased is Mauro Carlo Dal Canto, 76, of Park City, said a news release from the Utah Department of Public Safety.
“At approximately 2:21 p.m., a gyrocopter was taking off from the Heber Municipal Airport,” the news release said. “The airport for the runway is in close proximity to and parallels U.S. Highway 189. As the gyrocopter, an experimental aircraft, began to gain altitude, witnesses saw it suddenly veer to the right. It hovered above U.S. Highway 189 momentarily before crashing near the southbound shoulder of the roadway.”
After impacting the shoulder of the roadway, the aircraft went through a DOT fence and came to rest in a concrete ditch with a gully. The solo male pilot, later identified as Dal Canto, died as a result of the crash.
The State Bureau of Investigation is assisting Utah Highway Patrol with the investigation and also working with its federal partners at the National Transportation Safety Board, who will be conducting their own investigation.
Traffic on U.S. Highway 189 was slowed for multiple hours while emergency crews processed the scene.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information is made available.
