6 French tourists on plane that crashed into Lake Powell, killing 2 and injuring 5
A small plane that plunged into a lake that straddles the Arizona-Utah state line, killing two people and injuring five, was carrying six French tourists plus a pilot, authorities said Tuesday.
Kane County Sheriff's officials in Utah said witnesses reported seeing the plane out of Page crash into Lake Powell near Face Canyon shortly before 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Federal Aviation Administration officials said in a statement that the pilot of the single-engine Cessna 207 reported an engine problem before the plane went down.
The plane was located in 120 feet of water and Kane County authorities said two people died in the submerged aircraft.
Utah Department of Public Safety divers were trying to recover the bodies, according to sheriff's officials. The names of the dead and injured haven't been released yet.
Authorities said the pilot and witnesses were able to get four passengers out of the water and into boats after the crash.
They said three passengers suffered serious injuries and were airlifted to St. George Regional Hospital, while two people with minor injuries were transported by boat to Antelope Marina and then taken to Page Hospital.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.
The water levels at Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest artificial reservoir, are at their lowest ever and are getting perilously close to reaching "dead pool status," the U.N. said earlier this month. The last time the lake was full was in 1999, but the water is dozens of feet lower than it was just last year.
