I just heard that a group of 9 people died in an airplane crash on Sunday. One of the 9 was my friend Jay Johnson. My condolences to the families of all of those involved. Jay was a kind and considerate human being, and I will miss him very, very much. The world was a much brighter, and happier place when he was around. If anyone knows how I can contact his mother, please let me know...sincerely, Riccarda Mescola
Veteran Was Behind Wheel in Lake Crash
Tuesday, January 16, 2001
BY NESREEN KHASHAN
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
GREAT SALT LAKE -- Tooele Valley Airport weekend manager Gary Parks heard the steady buzz of the KingAir Beech overhead. It was 5:20 p.m. on Sunday when he recognized the unmistakable sound of the twin-engine aircraft flying over the Great Salt Lake, minutes before it spiraled into the icy waters below, killing all nine people on board. When the plane went down, snow was driving down hard, and there was about a quarter-mile visibility around Tooele Valley, Parks said. While he wondered if the plane might land at a different airport, having unshakable confidence in John Cashman, the plane's veteran pilot, he didn't think the worst. "No, I didn't have a bad feeling," Parks said. "He was the best, most competent pilot I'd ever seen in my life." Today, federal investigators, including an official from the National Transportation Safety Board, are expected to begin examining the conditions that led to the crash. A barge hauling a crane is scheduled to arrive around noon to recover the shattered remains of the plane, which rests in about 5 feet of water 11 miles west and one mile north of the Salt Lake Marina. Preliminary reports indicate that the plane was flying under visual flight regulations, or VFR, which require that minimum visibility and weather standards be met, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Michael Fergus from Seattle. But federal investigators said there are no indications yet whether adverse weather played a role in the crash. Investigators still don't know if the pilot used or switched to flight instruments to navigate, which are most commonly used to compensate for poor visibility. The plane carrying Cashman and eight skydivers was returning from a weekend of jumping in Mesquite, Nev. Two of the skydivers, husband and wife, were the owners of Skydive Salt Lake, a Tooele-based company. Keith Stewart, the company's only other full-time employee, said the plane was used to make up to 23 jumps in Nevada from Friday through Sunday. Parks said he attempted to make radio contact with the plane immediately after he heard its engines. Investigators said Cashman never signaled for help, and Parks' efforts to reach the pilot were fruitless, he said. About five minutes later, the husband of one of the plane's passengers arrived at the airport to pick up his wife. Parks said at around 3:15 p.m. the man's wife had called her husband to say she was boarding. The 35-year-old plane didn't have a registered flight plan with the FAA. That meant airport officials didn't know it was in the air when Parks began calling around to see if the plane had landed at an alternate location. So when airport officials began searching for the aircraft about two hours after it disappeared, they examined several hours of radar reports to determine the plane's location, said Tooele County sheriff's Deputy Lt. Frank Park. Search-and-rescue officials believe that the four women and five men died instantly as the plane hit the water, fragmenting into pieces. Flying in from the southwest, the plane was probably making a 180-degree turn into the Tooele airport runway when it went down, airport officials say. The first body was found at 1:30 a.m. Monday by the shores of the marina. During the next several hours, all nine bodies were recovered. Seven of the bodies were also found on the shore. Through the rest of Monday morning, a crew of at least three dozen on three boats concentrated on recovering personal effects from the plane. Brian Hall, one of the rescue workers who scoured the waters with flashlights that pierced the darkness, said the hardest part was "not knowing what you were going to find until you got there."
Recovery crews retrieved foam pads, helmets, parachutes and other skydiving equipment. Parks said he was struck more than once by the commonplace items -- like a single shoe floating in the water -- that were meticulously plucked from the scene. Most backpacks, duffle bags and other luggage that were floating were still zipped shut, but Parks recalled one large blue suitcase that had burst open, scattering articles of clothing over the water. "I've been doing this for a lot of years and it never gets easy," Parks commented. "Unfortunately, any time you're involved with any tragedy like this, there will always be reminders of its personal nature." Monday's crash comes exactly five years after a small plane crash in Idaho in which six Utah businessmen and two pilots were killed.
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Tribune reporter Kevin Cantera contributed to this report. email: nkhashan@sltrib.com
List of the Victims
-- Pilot, John T. Cashman, 41, Sandy
Mike C. Hurren, 51, Midvale
Gayle Hurren, 45, Midvale
Lisa K. Ellis, 34, Salt Lake City
Nathan B. Hall, 28, Salt Lake City
Denise Helen Stott, 26, Salt Lake City
Charles T. Wilson, 31, address unknown
Merriah M. Hutson, 25, Sandy
Jay D. Johnson, 24, address unknown
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