By Laura French
CENTERVILLE, Utah — A Utah flight paramedic was critically injured and a pilot was killed after a small homemade airplane crashed on Thursday.
Paramedic Jason Sorenson, 47, of Intermountain Healthcare Life Flight, was riding as a passenger on the plane owned by Pilot Andre Kostrzewa, 72, who was killed in the crash that sparked a small brush fire in Centerville, north of Salt Lake City, according to KSL TV.
The single-engine aircraft was built using a homemade kit in 2018, according to The Standard-Examiner. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.
A crew from Intermountain Healthcare Life Flight responded to the crash not knowing that Sorenson was one of the victims, according to Desert News. Counselors have been made available to support Sorenson’s colleagues.
Sorenson has been a flight medic at Intermountain Healthcare for 15 years, colleagues said. He was reported to be in critical condition at a burn center after the crash.
Good Samaritans reportedly pulled Sorenson and Kostrzewa from the wreckage after witnessing the crash, and were treated for smoke inhalation. Firefighters extinguished a 10-acre brush fire sparked by the crash, according to The Standard-Examiner.