RICH COUNTY, Utah — An airplane pilot is in the hospital with minor injuries and cold exposure after her plane crashed in Rich County Tuesday evening.
Officials were notified of the downed plane at 7:40 p.m. on Tuesday when 41-year-old Oregon resident Alyssa McColly briefly lost control of her aircraft during a cross-country trip that began in Illinois.
On Tuesday morning McColly stated she left Colorado Springs and made multiple fuel stops in Wyoming, with her last stop being in Evanston airport.
She had just left that airport ad reached an elevation of 10,500 feet when she experienced possible weather-related issues with the aircraft, with the aircraft losing lift at 6:30 p.m. While McColly sent a mayday message to an unknown commercial pilot, that contact was later lost.
McColly eventually regained control of her plane and managed to land in deep snow near remote mountains near Monte Cristo. The plane itself remained mostly intact, she also indicated to dispatchers that she sustained minor injuries and was able to provide GPS coordinates of where she crashed.
Search and rescue crews responded with a Life Flight helicopter to the area and were able to locate and lift the pilot to safety. She was then transported to a hospital for minor injuries and cold exposure.
Due to heavy snow in the area, the rescue mission was delayed slightly as crews worked to navigate to the crash scene.
The crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board with the Federal Aviation Administration working with the owner of the aircraft for future removal of the wreckage.
