Initial report released on Roy airplane crash

ROY  — A preliminary report by national investigators probing the Dec. 5 crash of an airplane in a Roy neighborhood said the six-seater Cessna hit a power pole before it slammed into some trees and a pair of homes.

Pilot Clayton Roop, 46, of West Haven, left General Stout Airport in Hurricane about 75 minutes prior to the crash, the report said, and activated a flight plan while airborne above Tooele County.

Roop suffered severe burns in the 6 p.m. crash and was in fair condition Tuesday at University of Utah burn unit in Salt Lake City.

Roop is an "instrument rated private pilot," according to the report by the National Transportation Safety Board and was attempting to land in foggy conditions on Runway 3 at the Ogden-Hinckely Airport.

After being cleared to land, the report said, Roop was handed off to the Ogden Tower just prior to the crash.

The report said the conditions at the time indicated a half-mile visibility and broken clouds at 100 feet. Emergency responders told investigators visibility was even less than that on the ground, where two houses sustained substantial damage and power was knocked out to 700 homes overnight.

Roop was the sole occupant of the plane, a Cessna T210M, which was owned and operated by CK Aviation.

The December crash was one of four crashes in that same general area in the past 21 years. That approach, according to Ogden airport officials, is the one used by large-scale commercial aircraft when they have to divert for weather reasons from the Salt Lake City International Airport.

Another, final report will be issued by the safety board after more months of investigation. It is likely the Federal Aviation Administration will re-examine the approach and its clearances.

E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com