Man crashes plane into his own home, trying to kill his wife
The man who died after he intentionally crashed a
plane into his own home is believed to have done it in a deranged bid to
kill his wife, police said.
Duane
Youd, from Payson in the US state of Utah, carried out the astonishing
attack just hours after he had been arrested for assaulting his wife, The Sun reports.
His partner and a child, who were in the home at the time of the attack, managed to escape despite the front part the two-storey house being engulfed in flames, Police Sergeant Noemi Sandoval said.
The crash occurred early Monday morning, around 2:30am in Payson, a city 100km south of Salt Lake City.
Investigators believe the plane belonged to Youd’s employer and that he intentionally flew into his own house, Sandoval said.
He was an experienced pilot, she said. It wasn’t immediately clear who employed Youd.
Youd was arrested about 7.30pm on Sunday after witnesses called the police to report that he was assaulting his wife, police said.
The couple had been drinking and went to American Fork Canyon to talk about problems they were having.
Youd was booked into jail on suspicion of domestic violence and then bailed out, authorities said.
He requested an officer escort to go to his home so he could get his truck and some belongings around midnight.
That occurred without incident, Sandoval said.
Within hours, Youd was taking off in the plane from the Spanish Fork-Springville Airport about 24km north of his house.
He flew directly to his neighbourhood and smashed into his house, Sandoval said.
Photos of the wreckage showed the white plane charred and in pieces in the front yard nearby an overturned and crushed car.
Most of the house was still intact although the front of the building was burned heavily.
Police had responded one previous time to the house on a domestic violence incident, Sandoval said.
Online court records show that Youd agreed on July 23 to attend marriage and family counselling sessions for six months as part of a plea agreement following an April 8 domestic violence incident.
On that occasion he was charged with disorderly conduct.
His partner and a child, who were in the home at the time of the attack, managed to escape despite the front part the two-storey house being engulfed in flames, Police Sergeant Noemi Sandoval said.
There were two individuals in the home at the time that the plane went in, Sandoval said.
They were able to get out of the home without any injuries. Obviously, they were very shook up over what had happened but they weren’t physically injured.
Investigators believe the plane belonged to Youd’s employer and that he intentionally flew into his own house, Sandoval said.
He was an experienced pilot, she said. It wasn’t immediately clear who employed Youd.
Youd was arrested about 7.30pm on Sunday after witnesses called the police to report that he was assaulting his wife, police said.
The couple had been drinking and went to American Fork Canyon to talk about problems they were having.
Youd was booked into jail on suspicion of domestic violence and then bailed out, authorities said.
He requested an officer escort to go to his home so he could get his truck and some belongings around midnight.
That occurred without incident, Sandoval said.
 |
| Duane Youd died after crashing a plane into his family home. Picture: Utah County Sheriff's Office via APSource:AP |
He flew directly to his neighbourhood and smashed into his house, Sandoval said.
Photos of the wreckage showed the white plane charred and in pieces in the front yard nearby an overturned and crushed car.
There was a significant fireball, so there’s not a whole lot left of the plane itself, Sandoval said.
Most of the house was still intact although the front of the building was burned heavily.
Police had responded one previous time to the house on a domestic violence incident, Sandoval said.
Online court records show that Youd agreed on July 23 to attend marriage and family counselling sessions for six months as part of a plea agreement following an April 8 domestic violence incident.
On that occasion he was charged with disorderly conduct.
This article originally appeared on The Sun
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