Nighttime Highway Landing Leads To Fatal Traffic Crash
One motorist dead after post-landing pileup in Utah.
A pickup truck was not able to stop in time to avoid slamming into other vehicles that had stopped to avoid a Cessna after an emergency landing. Credit: Utah Highway Patrol
A nighttime emergency highway landing in Utah left an instructor and student pilot uninjured, but the subsequent traffic pileup injured several drivers. One of the motorists subsequently died from injuries sustained in the collision.
About 8:15 p.m. local time Monday night (Dec. 2) over Payson, Utah (about 60 miles south of Salt Lake City), a Cessna 172 bearing the livery of ATP flight school experienced what was described as a mechanical failure leading to a loss of engine power. The aircraft, reported by Utah Highway Patrol as en route from Las Vegas to an as-yet undetermined destination airport, made an emergency landing on the northbound side of Highway I-15. The nearest airport to the site was Spanish Fork (KSPK).
Though several cars were able to stop and initially avoid the Cessna, a pickup truck slammed into four vehicles, some of which then were pushed into the aircraft. One of two people in the cars reported to have serious injuries died Monday night. Two more suffered minor to moderate injuries.
The incident shut down traffic on the segment of I-15 near mile marker 250 for some three hours as crews worked to clear the damage and remove the aircraft.
