HEBER CITY — Two investigations are being conducted into the crash of a gyrohelicopter in Wasatch County on Wednesday that killed the pilot.
About 2:20 p.m., Mauro Carlo Dal Canto, 76, of Park City, took off in the experimental aircraft from the Heber Valley Airport, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety. As the gyrocopter was gaining altitude, witnesses told authorities that it suddenly veered to the right and hovered momentarily over U.S. 189 before crashing onto the shoulder of the road, coming to rest in a ditch.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the National Transportation Safety Board are assisting the Utah Highway Patrol in the investigation. Officials from the NTSB are also conducting their own independent investigation.
A gyrocopter looks like a small helicopter but doesn’t have an engine turning the main rotor. Instead, the rotor is self-propelled due to the way the air flows through it.
Officials closed the right lane of U.S. 189 near 3600 South for several hours as they investigated the crash.