Rescuers recovered four bodies from the wreckage of a small plane that crashed in the Cedar Mountains west of Delle Sunday.
The plane's four occupants had yet to be formally identified Tuesday. Tooele County Sheriff Don Proctor verified there were two women and two men. Their bodies were removed to the state medical examiner's office for autopsies.The single-engine Piper PA-32 Lance went down 50 miles west of Salt Lake City and two miles south of I-80 on a snowbound ridgeline near Skull Valley.
The Piper's emergency locator transmitter activated about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, minutes after the pilot advised he was dipping below the radar, Federal Aviation Administration officials said. The device activates upon impact and is used by the FAA and searchers to locate downed aircraft.
The plane was destroyed upon impact. Proctor said investigators are considering if adverse weather conditions contributed to the crash.
The Civil Air Patrol also heard the distress signal and helped pinpoint the crash site. Rescuers, who were dropped from a military helicopter, hiked to the downed plane late Sunday and found no survivors.
The aircraft is registered to a Salt Lake attorney.