PROVO, Utah — A small plane made a hard landing and caught fire on a runway at the Provo Airport on Monday afternoon, causing delays for travelers ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. after the pilot reported receiving error messages just about 10 minutes after taking off. It was meant to fly to Van Nuys, California.
"They quickly made a circle around to get the aircraft back on the ground,” said Brian Torgersen, the director of the Provo Airport.
The landing ruptured a fuel tank, which sparked a fire on the runway. All four people on the plane are OK, although one did get taken to the hospital.
“[They] were able to self-extricate, get themselves out of the aircraft, and get away from it. We were able to extinguish the fire pretty quickly,” said Torgersen.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the incident.
The crash and cleanup halted both inbound and outbound flights, which left some holiday travelers in limbo.
Jayne Jonas, who was traveling to Arizona to see her family, was still waiting for an update hours after her scheduled 4:30 p.m. boarding time.
“I would be so sad. I have so many plans with my family that I’m looking forward to. I was excited to get out of Utah’s cold for the week,” said Jonas.
Brothers Chase and Clayton Walburger were also eager to get home to California but faced an additional hurdle. Their flight to Orange County has a strict curfew, preventing late-night arrivals.
“I’m not the optimist. I assume we’re not taking off. But we’re here just in case,” Clayton said.
The passengers acknowledged the common frustrations of holiday travel.
“It’s the holidays, right?” said Clayton.
Despite the uncertainty, Jonas remained hopeful: “We’ll see, crossing fingers, all goes well.”
The airport was finally reopened shortly before 10:30 p.m., but officials warned that travelers should still expect major delays and check with their airline.
