'Moderate to severe' turbulence reported prior to fatal plane crash in Utah Lake

PROVO — Moderate to severe turbulence was reported by multiple aircraft around the Provo Municipal Airport just before a student pilot and his flight instructor crashed into Utah Lake in August, killing the student.

On Aug. 7, just before 4 p.m., Chase Riley Day, 25, a plane crashed into Utah Lake shortly after takeoff. "The flight instructor sustained serious injuries, and the pilot undergoing instruction was fatally injured," according to a preliminary report recently released by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB says its investigation into the fatal crash is still ongoing. But according to their report, "preliminary air traffic control audio indicated that multiple aircraft operating in the vicinity of Provo Municipal Airport in the period before the accident reported moderate to severe turbulence."

After the single-engine Textron Aviation Cessna 172 Skyhawk, operated by ATP Flight School, took off, "a few seconds later, the airplane began a rapid descent," the report states. "Security camera footage from multiple buildings located on the east side of the airport, facing west and south-southwest, showed several areas of tall dust formations moving through the surface area along and south of the airport during the time preceding the accident."

The plane crashed into Provo Bay. The debris field was about 100 feet, according to the report.

"The forward cabin section, engine, and both wings were submerged, with a section of a propeller blade tip visible above the water," the report states.

Day was laid to rest on Aug. 15.

"Chase will be profoundly missed. The hole left by his absence is enormous, but so is the gratitude we feel for the short time we were blessed to have him with us. Words cannot express the gaping hole we all feel after his tragic and sudden death. Chase, we love you. We are grateful for every moment we had with you, and we look forward with faith and hope to the day we see you again," his family wrote in his obituary.

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