Capt. Nicholas Thomas of the Utah Army National Guard. Image courtesy Utah Guard.
SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities have identified two men who were killed in a civilian plane crash in Butterfield Canyon Thursday, and one of the victims served as a Captain in the Utah National Guard.
According to a press release issued Friday, Captain Nicholas Thomas, 34, of the Utah Army National Guard was killed in Thursday’s crash.
“His tragic death weighs heavy on our organization, and our hearts go out to the Thomas family in their time of loss,” the Utah National Guard stated in the press release.
Later Friday, police identified the other victim as 37-year-old Jacob McGoldrick. Police say McGoldrick and his fiance lived in South Carolina, but his immediate family lives in Australia.
The small aircraft went down near the border of Tooele and Salt Lake counties Thursday morning.
”What caught my eye was there was a yellow, smaller aircraft making a right hand turn that was relatively low into the canyon, but it looked like it was losing altitude,” said Trooper Jay Watkins, who witnessed the moments before the deadly crash.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. Fox 13 News will update this story as more details emerge.
