PICTURED: Divorce lawyer, 36, and pilot, 43, who were killed alongside his nine-month-old daughter when their small plane crashed into a Utah home - leaving three others with critical injuries
Authorities identified the victims of a Piper PA-32 plane crash that killed three people, among them a 9-month-old infant, and left three others critically hurt after the aircraft slammed into a residential neighborhood in Utah.
The pilot, Lee Wyckoff, 43; his infant daughter, Coral Wyckoff; and Milda Shibonis, 36, died when their plane crashed into the backyard of a home in West Jordan on Saturday.
Two of the other passengers on board the plane - the pilot’s wife, Rebecca Wyckoff, 36; and her two-year-old son, Cody Mitchell - were listed in critical condition as of Sunday, according to Deseret News.
Lee Wyckoff (left), 43, of Bumpass, Virginia, piloted a Piper PA-32 plane that crashed into a residential neighborhood in West Jordan, Utah, just seven miles southwest of Salt Lake City, on Saturday. He and two others, including his nine-month-old infant daughter, were killed. Milda Shibonis (right), 36, a divorce lawyer, was also killed in the plane crash on Saturday
Veda Sheperd, Shibonis’ 12-year-old daughter, was on board and managed to walk away from the crash without serious injuries. She was treated at a hospital and released a short time later. Veda is pictured right alongside her mother in this undated file photo
Shibonis was a highly regarded divorce lawyer who worked at a law firm in Salt Lake City, Utah. ‘Milda is known for being a perfectionist in her work who fights for her clients and won’t back down from a challenge,’ according to her bio.
Two of the other passengers on board the plane - the pilot’s wife, Rebecca Wyckoff, 36; and her two-year-old son, Cody Mitchell - were listed in critical condition as of Sunday. Wreckage of the plane is seen above on Sunday in West Jordan, Utah
Cody suffered burns to his legs and arms, according to police.
Veda Sheperd, Shibonis’ 12-year-old daughter, was on board and managed to walk away from the crash without serious injuries. She was treated at a hospital and released a short time later.
Mary Quintana, 72, the homeowner whose house was hit by the plane, was inside at the time of the crash. She was listed in critical condition as of Sunday.
According to her family, she is heavily sedated after suffering severe burns.
The plane crashed into the backyard of a home owned by 72-year-old Mary Quintana in West Jordan, Utah, on Saturday. Quintana was listed in critical condition after suffering burns to her body
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a small Piper PA-32 that took off from a local airport Saturday afternoon
‘We’re getting through it, slowly but surely,’ Joe Murillo, Quintana’s brother, said.
‘She’s a good person, a real good person and everything...Everything is good about her, and I hope she makes it through.’
Murillo and other members of the family watched firsthand as investigators cleaned up the debris and charred remains of Quintana’s home at 3847 Piccadilly Circle in West Jordan.
The police blocked traffic on the street after curious onlookers drove by to survey the damage, upsetting neighbors and local residents.
Murillo said his sister was on the deck of her home when the crash took place.
He believes that had she been inside, she would not have survived.
‘That’s God’s blessing,’ he said.
Murillo said neighbors came to his sister’s rescue after they heard the crash.
‘That felt real good. She had the community, that was helpful and that was really good,’ he said.
Quintana's brother said neighbors ran into the burning home and saved his sister's life on Saturday
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the plane crash. Pictured: witnesses could see thick black smoke coming from the crash site on Saturday
Reports said the several medical helicopters were at the scene and carried injured civilians to local area hospitals
The aircraft had taken off from the South Valley Regional Airport and went down just 1.5 miles away around 1:30pm. Pictured: Fire rescue crews stand at the scene earlier Saturday afternoon
Authorities have not disclosed the cause of the plane crash. A preliminary report is expected to be released by the NTSB in a few months
Pictured: Photos taken by a West Jordan resident show several ambulances and emergency vehicles driving to the crash site around 1:30pm on Saturday
‘If it weren’t for her neighbors . . . she probably wouldn’t have made it out.’
Shibonis was a lawyer who focused on divorce and family law, according to her biography on the website for Intermountain Legal, a firm based in Salt Lake City.
‘Milda is known for being a perfectionist in her work who fights for her clients and won’t back down from a challenge,’ according to her bio.
The family released a statement to Deseret News remembering Shibonis as ‘truly unique.’
‘As a friend, a daughter, a sister, an attorney and a mother, Milda was fiercely loyal and unendingly kind,’ the statement read.
‘Milda came from Lithuania as a child with her family, as refugees.
‘Life was not easy and only a spirit as strong and wild as Milda’s could conquer it; and she did.
The above photo is a stock image of a Piper PA-32 single-engine aircraft - the same make and model that was piloted by Lee Wyckoff on Saturday, according to authorities
KUTV obtained a photograph from a flight school in North Carolina that was posted on July 17 showing Wyckoff standing next to an aircraft that looks like the same one that crashed into the home in West Jordan on Saturday
FlightAware indicates that the Piper PA-32 single-engine aircraft was owned by Wyckoff, who is listed as a resident of Bumpass, Virginia
It was scheduled to fly from South Valley Regional Airport near Salt Lake City to Page, Arizona, on Saturday at 1:37pm
‘She trained in mixed martial arts throughout her life and valued the people in that world as family.’
‘Milda was an incredible family law and personal injury attorney,’ a statement read on a GoFundMe page.
‘She made an instant impression on colleagues and lifelong friends at every court appearance, mediation, and phone call.
‘Her adventurous and resilient spirit gave her the kind of stories that no one can ever forget - and there were so many stories.’
The crowdfunding effort will pay for funeral expenses for Shibonis. Any leftover money will go toward helping Veda Sheperd, Shibonis’ daughter who survived the crash.
The investigation is now in the hands of the Federal Aviation Administration, according to KUTV-TV.
Data from the web site FlightAware indicates that the plane was piloted by Lee Wyckoff of Bumpass, Virginia.
The aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from South Valley Regional Airport in West Jordan, Utah, on Saturday afternoon
The plane arrived at South Valley Regional Airport in West Jordan, which is located some seven miles southwest of Salt Lake City, on July 21
KUTV obtained a photograph from a flight school in North Carolina that was posted on July 17 showing Wyckoff standing next to an aircraft that looks like the same one that crashed into the home in West Jordan on Saturday.
The plane, a 1975 Piper PA-32, arrived at South Valley Regional Airport in West Jordan, which is located some seven miles southwest of Salt Lake City, on July 21.
It was scheduled to fly from there to Page, Arizona, on Saturday at 1:37pm.
Data from FlightAware indicates that the plane had difficulty almost immediately after taking off.
According to the flight-tracking site, the plane reached 198mph before its speed dropped precipitously to 113mph just seconds later.
The crash site is 1.5 miles from the airport.
A preliminary report on the cause of the crash is expected to be released by the National Transportation Safety Board sometime in the next few months, according to KUTV-TV.
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