A single-engine Cirrus SR20 crashed in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon sometime Friday night, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.
The plane left Rock Hill Airport-Bryant Field in South Carolina and was expected to land in Henderson Friday night. When it didn’t, the pilot’s family reported him missing. Air traffic controllers tried to contact the pilot but got no response.
Radar data show the plane disappeared over the Grand Canyon at around 9 p.m. Friday. Coconino County Sheriff’s air units located burned aircraft wreckage in the Kaibab area of the Canyon at around 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Search and rescue coordinator Aaron Dick said the sheriff’s office was notified of an overdue aircraft at 8 a.m. Saturday. The sheriff’s office, along with the Civil Air Patrol and the National Park Service, started search operations soon after.
“At about 12:15 p.m., Civil Air Patrol spotted wreckage,” said Dick.
Units reached the aircraft an hour later where there was a fire at the scene, along with two deceased males. Dick said detectives and the medical examiner are currently at the scene. They believe there were no other passengers on the plane.
The FAA is not releasing the name of the victims and will conduct an air crash investigation with the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy