The remains of a couple killed in a airplane crash Saturday near Powder Mountain ski resort have been tentatively identified as those of a Layton husband and wife.
Weber County Chief Deputy Sheriff Sam Vander Heide identified the victims as John A. Prindle, 29, and his wife, Karen Marie Sigler Prindle, 26.The deputy said the couple boarded a rented single engine Cessna 152 about 2 p.m. Saturday at the Ogden Municple Airport and have thus far failed to return.
"We have no means to identify these people," Vander Heide said Sunday. "The remains and everything are burned. The bodies looked cremated."
He said dental records will be looked at before positive identification can be made.
The crash was discovered about 6:30 p.m. when local firefighters went to the scene to put out a fire, which was called in about 2:30 p.m., the deputy said.
The crash caused a forest fire, which was contained Saturday night and burned about 18 acres.
Vander Heide said the plane clipped some trees before crashing, which started the fire. He said parts of the plane were found over five acres of forest in rugged terrain.
Prindle was an airman at Hill Air Force Base and had been taking flying lessons for about two months, the deputy said. Prindle was from California, and his wife had lived in New Mexico before moving to Utah.
Vander Heide said the FAA was at the scene Sunday to determine the cause of the crash. He said the plane went down about three miles east of the ski resort up Ogden Canyon.
The deputy said the FAA had contacted the sheriff's department about 3:30 p.m. to report the overdue plane which the couple were riding in.