Plane crash after takeoff in Provo, Utah leaves one dead, one in critical condition

A small four-passenger plane crashed just after taking off from Provo Municipal Airport in Provo, Utah on Monday, leaving one dead and another in critical condition.

The other two passengers walked away from the crash with minor bumps, scrapes, and bruises.

The crash occurred at around 11:35 a.m. local time, with the plane only making it 10 feet into the air before falling.

“Immediately after takeoff, something occurred to cause the aircraft to lose control,” Provo Municipal Airport manager Brian Torgersen told KSTU-TV, a Salt Lake City Fox affiliate. Mr. Torgersen also mentioned that he could not recall the last fatality at the airport.

Provo Municipal Airport was closed so that the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board could investigate the incident, and will remain closed until Wednesday evening at the earliest, according to tweets from Provo, Utah officials.

Friends told Utah news site KSL.com that the deceased was entrepreneur Nathan Ricks, a top distributor for Provo-founded multilevel marketing personal care company Nu Skin Enterprises.

Mr. Ricks, who owned the plane, was flying his wife and two friends to the Rose Bowl game on Monday in Pasadena, California.

Other details, such as the exact cause of the crash and which passenger is in the hospital, were not available.

The closures have had major impacts on air carriers Breeze Airways and Allegiant Air. According to flight tracking website FlightAware, eight Allegiant flights were canceled Monday with two delayed, while Breeze had one flight canceled and two delayed.

“Right when they were ready to push [the plane] back, the pilot got on and he said, ‘Hey, there’s been an incident,’” Allegiant Air passenger Clint Dunaway explained to KSTU-TV.

On Tuesday, all 12 Allegiant flights in and out of Provo were canceled, with all six of the carrier’s planned Wednesday flights nixed as well; two Breeze flights were canceled Tuesday, with one other flight delayed.

“We are reaching out directly to passengers whose flights have been affected and offering the opportunity to receive a refund or re-accommodate with no fee to the next available flight,” Allegiant Air spokesperson Andrew Porello told KSL.com.