CEDAR CITY — Local emergency crews responded to a report of a small-plane crash on Friday, the second one in southwestern Utah in less than three days. Both pilots walked away from the accidents with minor injuries.
Friday's crash involved an Oregon man who was flying a Cessna 175 en route from Tigard, Ore., to Canyon City, Ariz., when he experienced engine difficulties, according to a statement from the Iron County Sheriff's Office.
The pilot told Iron County Sheriff Mark Gower he was just north and west of the Cedar City Airport when his plane's engine failed.
"He stated he tried to land the aircraft on a dirt road and upon doing so a gust of wind blew him off the road and into a tree," according to Gower's press release. "The aircraft was totaled."
On Wednesday, a Cedar City man landed his two-person aircraft on a small dirt runway on Cogswell Flat near Zion National Park. Bureau of Land Management officials found the plane and noticed two sets of footprints leading away from the crash site to a nearby cabin. The pilot had called a friend who picked him up and made arrangement to tow the aircraft out of the area.
The Federal Aviation Administration was contacted about both incidents and is investigating Friday's accident.