Two Cirrus SR22 planes crashed over the weekend, killing seven people. An SR22 (N831AZ) crashed into a lake after arriving at Provo Municipal Airport (PVU), killing both men on board, and another SR22 (N1281F) crashed into a wooded area and caught fire after attempting to land at the Wright Brothers National Monument First Flight Airport (FFA), resulting in the death of five people, including one child.

Disaster in Provo, Utah

SR22 (N831AZ) was cleared to land at the Provo airport on Friday. The pilot was preparing to land and another aircraft on the runway did not clear the airport in time and SR22 had to bypass. While driving, the SR22 suddenly stopped working. Witnesses told the tower that they saw the plane falling. According to ATC audio, another witness saw the crash site and said the plane had disintegrated and the parachute had opened.

The Utah County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded around 10:10 a.m. local time. According to witness accounts, the SR22 continued straight downhill at high speed, crashing into the lake. Soon, a group arrived at the scene but found no one. Utah State Parks and Search and Rescue responded with side scanning sonar. Cross Marine Projects brought in a rescue barge which raised the fuselage of the aircraft towards the surface and enabled search and rescue services to recover the bodies of the two victims.

Photos of Michael Cox and Mark Johnson with their families, courtesy of Utah County Sheriff’s Office

Initial recovery efforts encountered difficulties. It was difficult to see the water and many parts of the plane were recovered, but the fuselage was underwater and the parts were buried at the bottom of the lake in water about three meters deep. The bodies of two passengers were found late on Friday evening. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office identified the pilot as Michael Hyrum Cox, 43, of St. George, Utah, and the passenger was identified as Mark Andrew Johnson, 46, of Washington, Utah.

Devil Hills disaster in North Carolina

At approximately 5 p.m. local time on Saturday, SR22 (N1281F) struck a wooded area in FFA and caught fire. According to eyewitnesses, the plane tried to land at the airport. After the crash and subsequent fire, the Wright Brothers National Memorial reported that the Kill Devil Hills Fire Department, along with other local fire departments, extinguished the flames. Following the crash, FFA announced the station’s closure on Monday while assisting with the NTSB investigation. The National Park Service confirmed that four adults and one minor died in the crash.

NTSB investigator Ryan Enders told The Outer Banks Voice that the plane was on a multi-leg flight and last departed from Dare County Regional Airport (MQI). He said the SR22 overshot the runway twice while heading southeast, and during the second pass the plane veered left and struck trees next to the runway, catching fire.

FFA is closed on Monday and anticipates reopening on Tuesday and returning to normal business hours.

The NTSB will release a preliminary report on the two separate disasters in about two weeks, and a final report in a year or two. Probable cause, if determined, will be included in the final report.