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West Jordan • A small plane crashed at Columbia Elementary School in West Jordan midday Thursday, killing the 60-year-old pilot but harming no students.

The small plane barely missed striking the school at 3505 W. 7800 South as it crash-landed about 12:23 p.m., near the south entrance. A fire department official said the aircraft, which was destroyed but remained in one piece, struck the ground within one foot of the building.

The plane's pilot, Randolph Flores, 60, of Palominos, Ariz., and a dog on-board died on impact, said Reed Scharman, West Jordan fire battalion chief.

Scharman said Flores was planning to visit a son and daughter who live in the Salt Lake Valley area. Just prior to the crash, Flores had contacted controllers at nearby South Valley Regional Airport about landing, Scharman said. Flores gave no indication of a problem at that time, he said.

Scharman said the single-engine, two-seater, kit-built aircraft was seen descending at steep angle and a high rate of speed before it crashed about a mile from the airport.

"All students and staff at Columbia Elementary are safe," said Jordan School District spokesman Steven Dunham, adding that while the plane did not strike the school building, it was "very close."

The school was placed on lockdown immediately following the crash to keep students away from the site, Dunham said.

But by mid-afternoon, parents were being allowed to pick up their children on the opposite side of the school, on 7800 South. For other students, school remained in session until regular dismissal time.

Adrina Chatwin told The Tribune that her 11-year-old daughter witnessed the plummeting plane from a nearby playground. Chatwin said the girl phoned her crying and hysterical and asking Chatwin to hurry over and get her. But Chatwin said that when they spoke on the phone again a few minutes later, her daughter was much calmer.

Dunham said that "a few children" were outside at recess when the plane came down.

But he added: "No children saw the impact. It descended on other side of the building."

Dunham said a number of school employees, including the principal, saw the plane come down and acted immediately to bring all students into the building. "Their first thought was to make sure the children were inside," he said.

Later, a school district crisis intervention team was "going classroom-to-classroom," notifying teachers that the team was available to any student who wanted to talk about the incident, Dunham said. He said the team will be at the school again Friday.

By late afternoon, Scharman said crews were cutting the plane into pieces so it could be moved.

FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said Thursday afternoon that the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board investigators were en route to the scene. FAA plane records list Flores as the registered owner of the RV-6A fixed-wing, single-engine experimental aircraft.

A PTA fund-raising carnival scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday was rescheduled for Sept. 22.

rorellana@sltribcom

Sheena McFarland, Janelle Stecklein and Aaron Falk contributed to this report.