PROVO, Utah — One person died and three others were injured after a small plane crashed Monday afternoon at the Provo Airport.
In an update Tuesday, officials identified the person who died as the pilot of the aircraft, 62-year-old Nathan Ricks of Alpine.
Ricks was a retired executive of Provo-based company Nu Skin, and the company said his influence continues to be felt by teams around the world. He leaves behind his wife, Joyce, four daughters and 15 grandchildren.
"We are sincerely grateful for the outpouring of love from our friends, neighbors, and community following Nathan’s passing. We lost a beloved husband, father, mentor, friend, and leader," the Ricks family said in a statement. "He loved life to the fullest, especially the wonderful people around the world that touched his life and he theirs through his business pursuits. He loved Utah and was all-in on making it a better place to live, work, and play for his grandkids and Utahns alike."
Brent Beardall, 51, of Sammamish, Washington, was seated in the cockpit next to Ricks and was taken to the hospital with critical injuries, but is expected to survive, officials reported.
Joyce Ricks, 56, of Alpine and 36-year-old Dane Margetts of Holladay were also passengers in the plane but both walked away with minor injuries.
Provo City officials said the private plane crashed "immediately after takeoff" around 11:35 a.m.
The airport was shut down following the crash, and city officials said it will remain closed as the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board conduct a full investigation.
Originally, the airport was estimated to reopen on Tuesday at noon, however, an update from officials reports that if the investigation goes according to plan, the earliest operations could resume "no earlier than Thursday morning."
"We recognize the significant impact this creates for our airline customers, as well as the general aviation and corporate aviation community," a statement from the airport reads. "Our priority is to resume normal operations as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the investigation process may take several days to complete.
Part of the investigation and clean-up processes include repairing all signs and lighting in the runway safety area, which is where most of the damage occurred. Although the crash happened on the main runway, it only caused minor scrapes to the runway surface.
Provo Airport manager Brian Torgersen said the aircraft only made it about 10 feet off the ground before going down.
“It’s just…nobody knows what happened,” Torgersen said. “Immediately after takeoff, something occurred to cause the aircraft to lose control.”
Details such as where the plane was headed were not made available.
Torgersen was one of the first on-scene. He said it was “incredible” two people were able to walk away.
"It's a devastating scene and we're heartbroken for the family and those involved," he said.
Due to the closure, Allegiant Air has had to cancel more than nine flights that were scheduled to either depart from or arrive at the airport. An Allegiant spokesperson said the company is reaching out directly to passengers on these flights to offer a refund or a rescheduled ticket.
“Right when they were ready to push [the plane] back, the pilot the got on and he said, ‘Hey, there’s been an incident,’” said Clint Dunaway, who lives in Arizona.
“I just stuck around thinking it’d be cleared and about two hours later I called my wife to come get me,” said Rick Munt.
Many flyers and their families were left searching for another way home.
“I expected to be home later today,” said 12-year-old Damon Dunaway.
“We’re hoping to rent a vehicle right now and then drive all the way through the night home,” Clint Dunaway said. “600 miles.”
Torgersen can’t recall the last time there was a fatal crash at the Provo Airport. He said the last death had to have occurred over a decade ago.
