SPANISH FORK, Utah – A small plane crash-landed in Spanish Fork Thursday afternoon after an engine went out and the landing gear did not descend.
Authorities said the plane crash-landed near 5150 South 1850 West around 1:45 p.m.
Sgt. Spencer Cannon of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said a twin engine plane lost the use of one of its engines shortly after it took off from Spanish Fork Airport. The pilot tried to return to the airport, but as he prepared to land the plane’s landing gear did not deploy.
As the pilot was working to lower the landing gear manually, the plane began to lose altitude. The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing. The pilot flew low over a cornfield and then went under some power lines, which were only about 20 feet above the ground. The pilot cleared a fence before landing the plane on its belly in another cornfield.
Passenger Jason Gomoln described the moment of impact.
“Once we started getting low the pilot just said, ‘brace,’ and so I just tucked my face behind the seat in front of me, and, you know, just held my arms together and it was quick, and we came to a stop and then we just did a survey to make sure everyone was OK,” he said.
The plane was damaged, but the pilot and two passengers were not injured. A fire truck and an ambulance were dispatched to the scene as a precaution.
