Southern Utah University officials on Tuesday released the names of the two pilots killed in a plane crash Monday.
Retired Lt. Col. Command Pilot Alan Carver, 50 and Nathan Stoddard, 24, were both found dead by the Iron County Sheriff’s Office. The pair’s Cessna 152 plunged into Quichapa Lake, a dry lake bed west of Cedar City – both pilots’ bodies were found at the scene of the crash.
Carver was a fixed wing aircraft chief flight instructor and was conducting a routine instructor sign off with Stoddard, a new hire at Upper Limit Aviation, said Ellen Treanor, executive director of communications at SUU.
“The plane left Cedar City airport around 11 a.m. and was near the end of their flight and returning to the airport when the crash occurred,” Treanor said.
The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
ULA officials stated they are fully cooperating with the investigation.
Carver retired from the Air Force in 2012 and started working at SUU in July 2013 as a flight instructor, according to information provided by SUU.
He had logged more than 6,000 hours of flight time, including 1,400 hour of combat flight.
Carver leaves behind a wife and three children, SUU officials said in a news release.
Stoddard began working for ULA and SUU on Oct. 2 and was hired as a junior flight instructor, the news release stated.
He recently moved to Cedar City from Salt Lake City.
“Our pilots receive constant training so they can exceed the requirements mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration,” Michael Mower, ULA’s chief operating officer, said in the news release. “Everything from our maintenance department and flight operations to dispatch have policies and procedures in place to ensure a safe training environment.”
Steve Black, of Cedar City, said he was sitting on his porch near the crash site when the airplane went down and has provided his information to the NTSB for its investigation.
“I used to be an air traffic controller for many years, so I am attuned to the noises aircraft make,” Black said. “I heard the plane out there making maneuvers but I didn’t hear anything wrong so I just kept listening. Then all of a sudden, just as I looked at the plane, it went into what looked like a very purposeful steep dive. It was as if I was looking straight down on the wings.”
The dive continued until the plane went under a ridgeline in the hills and he couldn’t see the plane anymore, Black said.
“I got the impression it was a controlled dive because I could hear the engines the whole time,” he said. “But then the wings started to wobble and it just kept coming straight down from a height of 1,500 feet from my estimate. When it didn’t come back up I called 911 but they already had reports coming in.”
Black said the weather at the time was quite sunny and calm and the blades on his windmill were not moving all that much.
“I can not adequately express the sorrow I feel for this tragic loss,” Carl Templin, dean of SUU school of business and aviation program, said in a news release. “I am deeply saddened by the loss of my colleagues and friends. My heart goes out to their families.”
Neil Donahue, SUU assistant chief flight officer, said he was looking forward to working with Stoddard.
“I have flown with Nathan before and he was a fine pilot,” he said in a news release. “I was truly looking forward to working with him; he was going to be a great teacher.”
The plane, owned by ULA, crashed about 200 yards from a home near Quichapa Lake at approximately 1:01 p.m. Monday about 6 miles west of Cedar City, according to the news release.
ISCO reported no damage occurred to any structures other than the plane.
“This is an incredibly sad time,” SUU President Scott Wyatt said in the news release. “No one is ever prepared for a tragedy like this. Many of our pilots have served our country and we appreciate the service they gave to us. We mourn the pilots’ families, loved ones, the SUU community and the city after such a loss.”
Monday’s crash was the third fatal plane incident in the Cedar City area since 2000, according to FAA accident records.
In October of 2007, a Woods Cross man and his brother died after their plane broke apart in mid-air during uncontrolled descent over mountains about 21 miles southeast of Cedar City.
They had been flying at night after taking off late in the evening from Bountiful in northern Utah.
Another crash in January of 2004 killed a commercial pilot trainee and examiner after they crashed into a mountain about 16 miles northwest of the city during a check flight.
Spectrum Media reporter David DeMille contributed to this report.
Follow Haven Scott@HavenWScott. Call him at 435-865-4522.
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