Aviation’s Rugged History In Southern Utah Features Crashes And Amazing Survival Tales

Southern Utah has been home to airplane enthusiasts and air travel since the 1920s. It might have looked like a good alternative to bumping along dirt roads that stretched between settlements, however, air travel in the red rocks has also been dangerous. 

The First Aviation Catastrophe in Southern Utah

The first recorded plane crash in Southern Utah happened in 1930 with a plane carrying the mail from Las Vegas to Cedar City. It was January and the pilot, Maurice Graham couldn’t land in Cedar due to a heavy snow storm.

Graham turned around and tried to get back to Washington County. He didn’t make it and ended up crash landing his plane but was able to walk away. Unfortunately, it was in a desolate part of the county.

They didn’t discover the plane until June and his body wasn’t found until almost a month later. His death certificate said he likely froze to death

Military Tragedies and a Reporter's Close Call Part of Airplane History

Several military planes flying out of Nellis Air Force Base crashed into the mountains around Enterprise during the 1940s. There was also a military plane that flew into a mountain in 1983 killing all 8 crew members. 

One of the more strange crashes that thankfully everyone survived was also in 1983. A reporter was flying into the St. George Airport that used to be on Tech Ridge. She was coming to write an article on SkyWest’s growth. 

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The pilot was lined up perfectly to land, well except he had forgotten to put his landing gear down. The plane skidded to a stop causing $50,000 in damage. Everyone walked away, but I imagine that reporter had quite a story to write after that.