SALT LAKE CITY — A deadly 2023 Utah plane crash was likely caused by the pilot, a North Dakota lawmaker, becoming disoriented while taking off at night without runway lights, federal aviation investigators said.
North Dakota state Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife and their two young sons died when the small plane Larsen was piloting crashed near the desert recreation town of Moab, Utah, after a refueling stop. They were on their way home after visiting family in Scottsdale, Arizona, when the plane’s landing gear struck a hill and brought the aircraft crashing down.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in its final report that Larsen lost his visual reference to the horizon and flew into rocky terrain. Security footage confirmed he did not turn on runway lights, which were fully operational at the time. Pilots can easily turn on runway lights with just a few clicks on the microphone at an uncontrolled airport like Canyonlands Airfield.
Investigators did not find any mechanical problems with the single-engine Piper plane in their inspection of the wreckage.
Before the flight, Larsen had received a weather briefing and logged nearly 45 hours of previous night flying experience, investigators said. Their report indicated that Larsen had received instrument training, a certification that allowed him to fly in low visibility conditions relying solely on aircraft instruments. Investigators said it’s likely that Larsen did not appropriately monitor the plane’s flight instruments after takeoff.
The family took off from the Utah airfield at 8:23 p.m., before the moon had risen completely above the horizon in a region known for its dark skies and prime stargazing. A local operator in southeastern Utah told investigators that their company pilots do not usually depart at night from the runway Larsen used, due to the dark conditions and the lack of visual references.
Danielle Hilzendeger, Larsen’s sister, said she had not seen the board’s final report.
An autopsy of Larsen performed by the Office of the Medical Examiner and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services found that the cause of death was blunt force injuries. A toxicology report released by the Federal Aviation Administration found no drugs or alcohol in his system.
