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BLUFFDALE — Emergency crews were called to an area near 16400 S. Pony Express Drive Saturday evening when a single-engine airplane crashed in a field.
The plane took off in Washington state Saturday morning, bound for New Mexico, Saratoga Springs Police Corp. Matt Shauerhamer said. The pilot and his wife planned to land in Provo and spend the night, but they didn't make it that far.
While flying over the Draper and Riverton areas, "the plane started bogging down and lost power," Shauerhamer said. "The pilot was able to look for an open field ... and managed to land his aircraft without any major injuries to those inside."
Darren Peirce watched the plane go down and called 911.
"It kept descending; it and turning to the right, turned 360 degrees, headed back south, and was in a high rate of sink, and just hit the ground," Peirce said.
The plane flipped over once it hit the ground, coming to rest on its top.
The pilot has 39 years of flying experience, Shauerhamer said, and was able to successfully dodge power lines and other obstacles to bring the plane down safely. Neither he nor his wife were injured.
Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the Saratoga Springs Police Department will conduct investigations to determine what went wrong.
