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Small aircraft crashes in Summit County

Patrick Parkinson

Thomas Harmon, 50, of Billings, Mont., is dead tonight after crashing a small airplane in Summit County this afternoon, authorities say. Wallsburg resident Marty Allen said he was driving on eastbound U.S. 40 looking for wildlife along the side of the road when he spotted the colorful tail of the plane sticking out of some trees. "I was just driving, minding my own business," Allen said. But after hiking several hundred feet to the site of the crash around 3:30 p.m., Allen called an emergency dispatcher when he saw a body hunched over in the driver seat of the airplane. Allen waited at the crash site for officers to arrive. Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds said Harmon was flying from Billings, Mont., to Spanish Fork. "He commutes and he’s done this route many times," Edmunds said. The sheriff did not know the pilot’s occupation or what type of plane he was flying. "It’s a pretty dramatic accident, like all plane accidents typically are," Edmunds said. "We do believe that the individual is the owner of the aircraft." Deputies were expecting the Utah medical examiner on scene Monday night to help with extrication of the body and Federal Aviation Administration authorities were scheduled to closely examine the wreckage Tuesday. Edmunds said the wrecked plane could be the same low-flying aircraft a Summit County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher received a complaint about Monday around 12:30 p.m. "The weather was horrible," the sheriff said, adding that a caller claimed the plane was flying only 50 feet above the road.


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