Utah business reeling from death of CEO in helicopter crash

SPRINGVILLE — A devastating helicopter crash in Idaho is sending shockwaves through Utah's business community. Knowing 59-year-old Utah businessman Brad Brown is gone, in some ways, doesn't seem real yet to those he left behind. "Devastated, shocked, sense of disbelief quite frankly," said David Smith, ATL Technology, President and COO. "Still lingering for sure. This is going to take some time." Brown was killed Thursday night in a helicopter crash that went down in an icy reservoir outside Idaho Falls. Smith is the president of the company that Brown founded in 1993. ATL Technology is now the premiere medical device company with 1,400 employees in five countries. As hard as his death is for the company, they know it's even more difficult for his family. "As a company, we're really focused on our hearts are broken for Brad's family, and that's our focus right now," Smith said. Smith said Brown was first a family man who also created a family office culture. Brown was named BioUtah's 2024 Executive of the Year and is an experienced pilot with over 4,200 hours in the sky. Smith said the best way for them to honor Brown's passion for life is to keep his business vision alive. "It's difficult, right? But that's life, but Brad would want us to continue and build on what he already created," he said. The Bonneville County Sheriff's Office in Idaho said the deputies and crews with them successfully pulled the helicopter's wreckage out of the icy water Friday. They said as far as figuring out what happened, that's up to the FAA & NTSB investigators looking into the crash.

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