Rescuers worked Monday to recover the bodies of four people who died when their plane crashed Sunday night en route to Nevada.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mitch Barker in Seattle said the plane was en route from Salt Lake City to either Wendover or Elko, Nev. He said the plane was being tracked by the tower at the Salt Lake International Airport when the "pilot advised he was descending below radar."A few minutes later, officials picked up transmissions from the plane's emergency location transmitter, a device that activates upon impact.

He said the plane, a single-engine Piper PA-32 Lance, was destroyed. The wreckage was spotted by the Civil Air Patrol and a military helicopter about 10 p.m. Sunday.

Barker said the plane was registered to a Salt Lake attorney. A Tooele County dispatcher said the plane's occupants were tentatively identified as two men and two women.

CAP Lt. Col. Jerry Wellman was among those who first heard the ELT signal. He said the downed plane was eventually found on a steep ridge six miles west of Delle, two miles south of I-80 and some 50 miles from Salt Lake City.

View Comments

Federal Aviation Administration investigators were en route to the site Monday morning.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.