SPANISH FORK, Utah — Just one day after a small plane took off from Spanish Fork for the last time, other pilots at that same airport can’t believe the young lives lost.
Twenty-six-year-old Evan Backers from South Jordan and 23-year-old Collin Niemela from Santaquin died on impact, while another unidentified 22-year-old man survived and was hospitalized.
"It could be any of us," said Benson Bowman, chief pilot at Platinum Aviation. "We could have a lapse in judgment anywhere, people are human."
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board visited the site of the downed Cessna 172G on Wednesday, but have still not announced a cause of the crash.
"They’re a four-seater, small trainer, and normally they’re very reliable aircraft," said Bowman of the plane the men were flying. "They handle very well. There’s a reason why they have a good reputation."
Bowman explained how in crashes, there are things that have been pointed out in almost every incident that a pilot could’ve done differently. He added there’s a difference between flying a plane over an open valley versus near the mountains and canyons.
"The winds would have a high factor through the mountains and especially through canyons," he explained. "It would be more turbulent, sometimes even more accelerated through a canyon."
Bowman said altitude. preparation and decision-making are other possible factors.
According to the NTSB, there have now been 34 plane crashes in Utah this year. To put those numbers into perspective, neighboring states like Wyoming have had six reported crashes, Nevada has 19 and Idaho reported 27. Bowman said that Utah's high numbers could be because the state is a big hub for flight training.
"Just in our valley, I think there’s eight or nine flight schools, so it gets pretty congested," said Bowman. "There’s a lot of aircraft, so a lot of pilots, a lot of aircraft, lot of wiggle room to make mistakes."
The experienced pilot wants to remind the community that mistakes can exist anywhere.
"If you have someone in flight training or you’re going on a commercial flight, these things are not the norm," he said. "There’s people that crash their cars every day at a higher rate than planes. And there’s a reason for that."
