PROVO, Utah — The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Wednesday into a small plane crash near Provo that killed two men more than earlier this month.
The crash occurred on the morning of Nov. 14 in a remote area of Utah County.
Inside the Cessna 172G aircraft were three individuals, two of whom died. The men who perished were later identified by officials as 26-year-old Evan Backers of South Jordan and 23-year-old Collin Niemela of Santaquin.
In the initial report, the lone survivor recounted the experience to officials saying the group was headed to Driggs, Idaho from Spanish Fork in the plane.
Data showed the plane flew north and east of the Provo Airport and into Slate Canyon where the unidentified survivor told officials he believed the pilot's intent was to remain outside of the Provo and Salt Lake airspaces.
"The passenger further reported that he was unable to discern any dialogue between the pilot and copilot regarding the rationale behind the pilot's decision to fly eastward into the canyon," NTSB stated in the preliminary report.
The report also noted windy conditions in the canyon and that the passenger heard the plane's stall warning horn before it hit trees.
A newly released photo from the crash additionally showed the plane crashed between trees in the forest.
Many details such as to why exactly the crash happened were not released in the report.
Officials stated the airplane and its engine were taken to a "secure location" in Phoenix, Arizona for further investigation.
