Police say man flies plane into his home after fight with wife.
A man in the United States has died after stealing a small plane from his employer and intentionally flying it into his own home hours after being released on bail for assaulting his wife.
The man’s wife and child were inside the home in the city of Payson in Utah at the time but were not hurt despite the front part of the two storey house being engulfed in flames, local police sergeant Noemi Sandoval said.
The crash happened about 2.30am (local time) on Monday in Payson, which is about 95km south of Salt Lake City.
The man has been named as Duane Youd, 47, an experienced pilot.
Police believe the twin engine Cessna 525 belonged to Youd’s employer.
The crash followed Youd’s arrested on Sunday evening after witnesses called police to report he was assaulting his wife, Utah County Sheriff’s Sergeant Spencer Cannon said.
The couple had been drinking and had visited the American Fork Canyon to talk about their problems, authorities say.
Youd was charged with suspicion of domestic violence but posted bail, Cannon said.
Within hours, Youd was taking off in the plane from the Spanish Fork-Springville Airport about 25km north of his house. He flew directly to his neighbourhood and smashed into his house, Sandoval said.
Photos of the wreckage showed the plane charred and in pieces in the front yard with an overturned and crushed car nearby.
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 plane 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.
