Small plane crashes; one dead, three hurt

Tuesday, March 4, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The plane crash just south of Salt Lake City International Airport during a snowstorm Sunday night. The four were coming to Salt Lake to arrange filming of a commercial.

Killed was Elaine Romano, 56, president of LGT Advertising, an in-house advertising company for the Orleans hotel-casino, and director of advertising for Coast Resorts, which owns the Orleans.

Christopher Johns, 49, the executive chef at the Orleans, was listed in stable condition today at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. He had chest bruises and possible internal injuries, a fractured vertebrae and a broken leg, hospital spokesman John Dwan said Monday.

Richard Myrick, 59, an account executive with the Orleans' advertising firm, and the pilot, Robert Parry, 55, were in serious but stable condition.

The 10-seat aircraft, en route from Las Vegas, crashed in a pasture a mile south of the runway about 7:15 p.m. Sunday.

Air safety investigator Gregg Nesemeier of the NTSB visited the site Monday and said the right wing and tail were broken in the crash and the main gear struts and nose gear strut were torn off the plane, a Beech King Air BE-200.

Jess Gomez, a spokesman for LDS Hospital, said Myrick told medical staff that visibility was near zero as the aircraft approached the airport.

"He said it was a whiteout, really heavy snow," Gomez said. "The passenger said they couldn't see a thing - not the lights, not the runway, and then they went down in a field short (of the runway)."

Officials said the pilot had filed an instrument flight plan before leaving Las Vegas.