The single-engine Piper PA-23 crashed around 8:20 p.m. PT on Sunday shortly after taking off from Canyonlands Regional Airport, according to the FAA.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating a small plane crash that killed all four occupants — North Dakota state Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife and their two children — in Moab, Utah, according to officials.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum confirmed the deaths in a statement Monday afternoon.
« First Lady Kathryn, Lt. Gov. [Tammy] Miller and I are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking loss of Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife, Amy, and their two young sons, » Burgum wrote.
« Sen. Larsen was a father, husband, coach, entrepreneur, businessman, state senator and lieutenant colonel in the North Dakota National Guard who committed himself fully to each of those roles with an unwavering sense of honor and duty, » he continued. « As a legislator, he was a tenacious advocate for individual rights and the freedoms he defended through his military service.
