PROVO, Utah, Sept. 28, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Two men killed in the crash of a small plane into Utah Lake Friday morning have been identified as Washington County men.
“Late Friday evening the bodies of the two occupants of the plane were recovered,” the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said Friday night.
“Michael Hyrum Cox, age 43, from St. George, is believed to have been the pilot. Mark Andrew Johnson, age 46, of Washington City, is believed to have been the passenger in the plane.”
Their bodies will be taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office where autopsies will be conducted.
“This morning at about 10:10 a.m. deputies with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an airplane that crashed into Utah Lake about a half mile northwest of Provo Airport,” the sheriff’s office press release said in recounting events.
“Witnesses reported, and surveillance video showed, that the plane last traveled straight down at high speed and crashed into the lake. A nearby group was on the scene of the crash within a minute or two and found nobody.”
Utah County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue responded to begin a search. Provo Police and Fire departments responded, as well as the Saratoga Springs Fire Department with water rescue assets. Utah State Parks responded with side scan sonar. The Utah Department of Public Safety Dive Team also responded.
Also assisting in this recovery operation was Cross Marine Projects out of American Fork with a recovery barge that was used to raise the fuselage of the airplane toward the surface, enabling search and rescue to recover the bodies of the two victims.
“Weather conditions were favorable,” according to the release, “but Utah Lake has water that is very difficult to see in.”
While the location of the wreckage was never in question, recovering the plane was a challenge because of its condition. Searchers recovered many pieces of the damaged plane, but the fuselage was underwater and parts of it were buried in the bottom of the lake. The lake at that location was about 9 feet deep.
