Man crashes light plane into his house after fight with wife

PAYSON, Utah, United States — A Utah man flew a small plane into his own house early Monday just hours after he had been arrested for assaulting his wife in a nearby canyon where the couple went to talk over their problems, authorities said.

The pilot, Duane Youd, died. His wife and a child who were in the home survived despite the front part the two-story house being engulfed in flames, Payson police Sgt. Noemi Sandoval said.

The crash occurred at about 2:30 a.m. in Payson, a city of about 20,000 60 miles (95 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.


Investigators believe the twin-engine Cessna 525 belonged to Youd’s employer and that he intentionally flew into his own house; Sandoval said he was an experienced pilot. It wasn’t immediately clear who employed Youd or whether he was authorized to take the plane.

It’s unknown if the child in the house is related to Youd, Sandoval said.

Youd, 47, was arrested about 7:30 p.m. Sunday after witnesses called police to report that he was assaulting his wife, Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon said. The couple had been drinking and went to American Fork Canyon to talk about problems they were having, authorities said.

Youd was booked on suspicion of domestic violence and posted bail, Cannon said. Youd requested an officer escort him 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 15 miles (25 kilometers) north of his house. He flew directly to his neighborhood 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 upscale house was still intact, but heavily burned in the front. Youd and his wife bought the 2,700 square foot house valued at nearly $400,000, in 2016 in a quiet subdivision of new homes near the foothills, county property records show.

The plane barely missed power lines and other homes, Sandoval said. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

Online court records show that Youd agreed last month to attend marriage and family counselling sessions for six months as part of a plea agreement following an April 8 domestic violence incident in which he was charged with disorderly conduct.


It is the second bizarre airplane incident in recent days. On Friday an employee stole a turboprop plane from Sea-Tac International Airport in Seattle and flew it for more than an hour before dying in a crash on an island southwest of Tacoma. /cbb

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Zach Braff back at Sundance with tragicomedy ‘Wish I Was Here’

PARK CITY, Utah - After exploring the quarter-life crises of young adults in the critical and commercial hit "Garden State" a decade ago, actor-director Zach Braff turned his eye to examine the existential dilemmas faced by parents in his new film "Wish I Was Here."

Braff plays 35-year-old Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor and married father of two, who decides to home school his children after the family can no longer afford the tuition for the private Jewish school the kids attend.

As Aidan battles with his own spiritual beliefs while he attempts to teach his "indoctrinated little matzo balls," he must find the motivation to move into a new chapter in his life and finally take responsibility for being a father who provides for his family.

"Wish I Was Here" marks Braff's return to the prestigious Sundance Film Festival exactly 10 years after he made his directorial debut with "Garden State," a film that garnered the actor-director critical praise and became a cult hit.

As an actor, Braff, 38, rose to prominence as daydreaming doctor J.D. on television sitcom "Scrubs," and "Wish I Was Here" sees him reunite with fellow "Scrubs" cast member Donald Faison, who plays a small role.

Braff, who co-wrote the film with his brother, Adam, told the audience at the movie's premiere this weekend that "Wish I Was Here" reflected the personal experiences that the two of them have had in their lives.

"'Garden State' was all the things me and my 25-year-old friends were obsessing about and talking about and worried about," Braff said. "With this, my brother and I are sharing the things we're talking about. He's got two young children, so what are the things he's wrestling with and teaching them? For me, it's my own spirituality." Braff does not have children.

He blends moments of levity and gravity in his film, from a rabbi on a Segway driving into a wall to his dying father, Gabe, wanting to make amends with his two sons. In one poignant moment, Gabe, played by actor Mandy Patinkin, says, "When life becomes tragic, it always circles back to comedy," something that "Wish I Was Here" plays with throughout.

The film's final touching scenes brought tears to most in the premiere's audience, generating a standing ovation for Braff.

"With films, the ones I love the most are the ones that are someone's unique story," the director said. "This is a unique story. No one else could tell this story that my brother and I wrote."

The film that Kickstarter made

"Wish I Was Here" has already gained buzz after Braff sought partial funding through crowdsourcing website Kickstarter in April 2013, raising $2 million within 48 hours and $3 million overall from more than 46,000 people.

Braff said he was encouraged by his producer, Stacey Sher, to use Kickstarter after being discouraged by traditional methods of funding that would force him and his brother to make significant sacrifices in their script.

"(Sher) said it is kind of ballsy to put yourself out there ... but if it were to work, there would be no compromises, you and your brother could make the film you had in your brain, with all its weirdness," the filmmaker said.

The project also drew a strong cast of well-known names. Actress Kate Hudson plays Aidan's wife, Sarah, who supports her husband's acting dreams but also finds herself masking her own unhappiness and frustrations of being the sole provider for the family as she struggles through a mundane job.

Josh Gad plays Aidan's reclusive brother, Noah, who is stuck in a state of permanent adolescence, while Joey King plays Aidan's pre-teen daughter, Grace, who is upset at leaving her Jewish school where she found comfort in faith. In one scene, Grace shaves her head, which King did for real on camera.

"That was a really scary experience for me but it was a growing experience for my career," the young actress said.

The film also features a small appearance by actor James Avery, who passed away in December. Braff said the actor, best known for playing Uncle Phil in long-running 1990s situation comedy "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," improvised the jokes for his scene.

"I'm glad that the last thing he did on film gets a giant laugh; I think he'd be happy about that," Braff said. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com