ST. GEORGE — Officials have released the name of a pilot killed in a fiery plane crash Monday near the Canyonlands Field Airport located approximately 20 miles north of Moab.
Donald Kim Ruble, 65, of Moab, was killed after the 2015 Quest Kodiak 100 single-engine aircraft he was flying hit a high transmission power line approximately 1 mile southwest of the airport at approximately 5:48 a.m. Monday, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office said.
After hitting the high power electric transmission line owned by Rocky Mountain Power, the plane crashed near the power line and immediately burst into flames, officials said.
A traveler who witnessed the incident called 911 to report the crash.
Grand County Sheriff’s Office, Grand County Emergency Management, Grand County EMS, Moab Valley Fire District, Utah Highway Patrol, Bureau of Land Management rangers and personnel from the Canyonlands Airport responded.
Ruble was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said, adding that his body had been transported to the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City.
The plane Ruble had been flying was owned by Lease Air LLC, of Moab, and operated by Red Tail Aviation, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Ruble was a contracted pilot with the company which contracts with UPS to haul next-day freight from the Salt Lake City area to various communities in Utah.
The plane was headed to Green River with a final destination of Salt Lake City, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were on site Wednesday investigating the crash.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.
Email: kscott@stgnews.com
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.
The post Officials identify pilot killed after crashing into Rocky Mountain Power line appeared first on St George News.