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Payson residence narrowly missed by plane that struck neighbor’s home

Posted at 9:33 PM, Aug 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-13 23:42:04-04

PAYSON, Utah -- A close call for a Payson family. The Geldmachers live right across the street from the house hit by a plane early Monday morning.

“It really shook our house and then a really loud explosion,” said Tyler Geldmacher.

Police believe the pilot, Duane Youd, intentionally flew the plane into his own house following an arrest for domestic violence. Youd was killed. His wife and her adult son, in the house at the time, were not seriously injured.

The Geldmacher’s didn’t realize their own home had been involved until well after the crash.

“We didn’t even realize it hit our house until a little while after,” said Geldmacher.

Their garage, a tree and a car were all clipped by the plane on its way down. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators believe the combination may have slowed the plane, lessening the impact to the house.

“We’re going to go through and document the scene as it lies, then we’re going to start getting removal of the airplane pieces out and start documenting those pieces as we get them removed,” said Jason Aguilera, a senior NTSB Air Safety Investigator.

It will be about five business days before the NTSB puts out a preliminary report. It will likely be a year until the final report on the crash is complete.