Victims of crash praised

PROVO — The three Utah County men who died when their plane went down in Utah Lake Thursday night were men of integrity who lived their lives to the fullest, friends and family say.

Meanwhile, efforts were to resume today to recover the bodies of pilot Blaine Pugmire, 31, Springville; Alpine's Harold "Les" McGuire, 35; and Ray Hooper, 35, Mapleton.

And investigators said they will continue to piece the "puzzle" together to determine a cause for the crash that occurred long after the Provo airport control tower had shut down for the night and in an area where radar coverage is poor.

The loss of the three men is a huge blow not only to family members but the community in general, said Kyle Nelson, who worked with McGuire and Hooper in their financial consulting company, Producer Revolution, as well as other business ventures, including Engenuity.

"If any men were to be part of the news, (these) are men with honor and integrity and a message that could save the world," said Nelson, executive vice president of Engenuity. "The intellectual property they have — their contribution to society can't even be measured."

The men worked as financial educators, teaching skills for creating profitable, productive lives, Nelson said.

Pugmire, an experienced pilot, had been hired to take the men to and from speaking engagements. The three friends were returning from a conference in St. George Thursday night when their plane went down near the Provo airport.

The Utah County Sheriff's Office suspects weather might have been a factor in the crash.

"We are taking so many things into factor," Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Harris said. "It's like putting a puzzle together."

Storms blew in across the county Thursday night and Friday, with heavy winds, patchy rain and ominous clouds.

Bad weather continued to be an issue in the recovery efforts, as searchers were pulled off the lake several times Friday because of high winds and waves. The effort was suspended Friday evening and was expected to resume this morning around 6 a.m., Harris said, when searchers will begin investigating several points of interest identified Friday.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are also conducting parallel investigations, hoping to find a cause for the crash. Their investigation might take weeks, possibly even months, said William Hughes, an FAA inspector who was on site.