Dad Crashes Plane Into Home Hours After Domestic Dispute Arrest, Cops Say

A man died after crashing a plane into his own home, just hours after being arrested on domestic abuse charges, police say.

At around 2:30 a.m. on Monday, cops were called to a home in Payston, Utah, after a small plane crashed into the front of the house. The home then caught on fire, police say.

The man flying the plane, whom police have identified as Duane Youd, died in the crash.

Youd was arrested the night before on domestic violence charges against his wife in American Folk Canyon, a picturesque area known for hiking and fishing.

Youd had posted bail on those charges and requested a police escort around midnight on Monday to retrieve some of his personal belongings at the home he would allegedly crash into hours later. Youd’s wife and a juvenile were inside the home during the crash. Both escaped unharmed.

“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,” Payson police Sgt. Noemi Sandoval told KTSU in Salt Lake City.

Sandoval said Youd, the aircraft's lone occupant, was an experienced pilot. Nobody else besides The Cessna 525 CitationJet that smashed into the home belonged to a company Youd had worked for, according to KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Duane Youd -m

Youd’s 17-year-old son, Parker Youd, said his dad told him he loved him hours before the crash.

“He said, ‘I love you, good luck, I’ll see you tomorrow,’” Youd told KSL-TV.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.

Youd’s daughter, who lives in Arizona and drove to Utah after the deadly incident, told reporters on Monday that her father was in pain, KSL-TV reported.

“He’s being portrayed as [...] not in a positive light and it’s really hard and upsetting to hear this because he’s not this person that’s being portrayed,” she reportedly said.

[Photo: Utah County Sheriff's Office]