Two Washington County Residents Killed in Utah Lake Plane Crash

A small plane that crashed into Utah Lake on Friday morning has an unfortunate connection to Washington County. 

According to an article from KSL, the two men who died in the crash around 10 a.m. near Provo were residents of Washington County. 

KSL said, “Spencer Cannon with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said the single-engine plane went down just after 10 a.m., approximately half a mile northwest of the Provo airport. Cannon said the aircraft had been cleared to land there. The sheriff’s office said that Michael Hyrum Cox, 44, from St. George, and Mark Andrew Johnson, 46, from Washington, Utah, were missing for several hours but were found dead inside the plane wreckage.” 

Investigators believe Cox was the pilot while Johnson was the passenger. Not a lot is known as to why the crash occurred, but the plane was cleared to land in the lake for some unknown reason.  

The article from KSL said the communications between the pilot and air control haven’t been released. The damage to the plane was pretty severe after it crashed into Utah Lake with officials saying it would be highly unlikely for someone to survive such a crash. 

KSL said, “The sheriff’s office said witnesses were in boats on the water at the time of the crash, and investigators contacted them afterward. However, the sheriff’s office was unclear on who made the emergency call, whether it was a witness in a boat or possibly airport staff.” 

We’ll continue to provide more information as the authorities release more information surrounding the crash. We’d also like to extend our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of both Cox and Johnson during this sensitive period.