Emergency landing of a small plane causes fatal multi-car crash on I-15

PAYSON – An airplane made an emergency landing on Interstate 15 near Payson Monday night, and was involved in a multi-car crash.

According to Cam Roden with the Utah Highway Patrol, a flight instructor and a student pilot made an emergency landing on the northbound lanes of I-15 near mile marker 250. DPS reported the plane landed at approximately 8:11 p.m.

Sgt. Jeremy Matthews with the Utah Highway Patrol said the emergency landing happened due to what appeared to be an engine failure. Roden later confirmed it was a mechanical failure that caused the engine to quit entirely.

Matthews said the plane was dimly lit, making it difficult for cars on the roadway to see.

Flight instructor Jake Braby, who also happened to be in the air with his student pilot when it all happened, said he could hear the mayday call over the radio when it went out.

“We just suddenly heard ‘mayday, mayday, mayday’ on the radio, and some guy was reporting an engine failure,” Braby said. “He just reported that he was he lost some rpm with his engine, and he thought was a possible engine failure and that he thought he might have to put it down on the freeway. I would imagine that would be pretty terrifying. I mean, in all honesty, I-15 would probably be what I would choose as well if I had an engine failure.”

Roden reported the airplane made a successful landing but was “involved in traffic,” colliding with five cars on the roadway. On Tuesday morning, Roden said a Dodge pickup truck couldn’t stop before striking the four other cars, pushing them into the plane.

Nobody in the airplane was injured, Roden said, but four people in the line of cars on the road were injured — two people with serious injuries, one person with moderate injuries, and another person with minor injuries. All were taken to a nearby hospital.

UHP later confirmed that 58-year-old Valdecir De Oliveira died from his injuries while at the hospital. According to a press release, Oliveira was the driver of a white Chevy pickup, which was the first vehicle to be hit in this accident.

A small aircraft made an emergency landing on Interstate 15 near Payson on Dec. 2, 2024. (Andrew Adams, KSL TV)

Northbound lanes of I-15 were closed while officials worked to investigate the incident and clear the airplane, which took a total of three hours, Roden said. The plane was towed off the freeway until it can be dismantled enough to move.

This is a breaking story and may be updated.