SALT LAKE CITY — A man who died when he flew a plane into his own house after he had been arrested for assaulting his wife had full access to his employer’s plane because he had earned the firm’s trust, the president of the Utah company said Tuesday.

Duane Youd, 47, was a “rock-solid” employee and a good person during 13 months as company pilot, Leon Van Sickle told The Associated Press. He is the president of the VanCon, Inc., a general engineering company.

FAA officials investigate the scene of the early Monday morning plane crash in Payson, Utah. Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News via AP

He said Youd had the digital access code to the airplane hangar, though he had no idea he would take the plane early Monday. Youd was a stellar pilot who flew employees to business meetings around North America in the company’s only plane, a twin-engine Cessna 525, Van Sickle said.

“He’s the manager of the plane,” Van Sickle said. “He had full access to it. It all boils to trust. I don’t know what we would have done different.”

The crash occurred at 2:30 a.m. Monday in Payson, a city of about 20,000 people 60 miles south of Salt Lake City. He had posted bail hours earlier after being arrested after witnesses reporting seeing him assault his wife, authorities said.

His wife and her 24-year-old son escaped as the two-story house became engulfed in flames, authorities said.

Youd took the plane out of a hangar at the small Spanish Fork-Springville Airport, where there are no air towers or traffic control monitoring of who takes off or lands, said airport manager Cris Child.

Related Stories