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Payson • Utah Valley University's aviation program experienced its first fatal crash Wednesday, when a 34-year-old UVU flight instructor and her 25-year-old student crashed in a neighborhood near an elementary school.

"It's a terrible, terrible day," said UVU spokesman Chris Taylor. "We lost two family members."

Instructor Jamie Bennee and student David Whitney were identified by UVU officials Wednesday night as the pair who died.

Lt. Bill Wright said police started receiving calls about 1 p.m. that a plane went down near 487 S. 500 West, across the street from Wilson Elementary School. The 1999 Diamond Aircraft DA20-C1 fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft came to rest between two homes, its tail almost broken off, sitting about 100 yards from the school. The plane had taken off from Provo Municipal Airport.

Taylor said there was no radio contact with the plane before the crash.

Spring Lake resident Candace Harris was driving between Payson and Santaquin when she saw the plane doing what looked like "barrel rolls." Then it began spinning, nose down. The man and woman in the cockpit appeared to be dead when she got to the crash site about 1:15 p.m.

Marilyn Riddle, a flight instructor at UVU, describes how students are taught to maneuver out of spins and stalls in an article published on the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's website. Students practice with spins and stalls on three separate training flights, the article said.

Susan Whitney, who lives in Medford, Ore., said a UVU administrated called her Wednesday afternoon to tell her and her husband about their son's death.

Susan Whitney said Wednesday was a "rough day" but many visitors stopped by to express their love.

She said her son was the oldest of seven children. He served an LDS church mission in Mexico where he met his wife, Angie. They were married Dec. 21, 2009.

David Whitney spent two years at Brigham Young University before transferring to UVU's aviation program about 18 months ago.

"He's always loved flying," Susan Whitney said. "From the time he was little he liked making paper airplanes and going to air shows."

In addition to being a student, David Whitney was a customer service employee for an alarm company.

"He was a very good kid his whole life," his mom said. "He was very sensitive, very kind hearted."

The Whitney family will arrive in Utah today to comfort Angie.

"She's devastated, very devastated," Susan Whitney said.

David Whitney will be buried in Oregon.

Ron Penrod, Wilson Elementary School's principal, said no students were on the school's east field when the crash occurred. He learned about the crash when a teacher said she saw a plane sitting across the street.

"We had the students inside and did not let them out," Penrod said. The students were released through the school's west doors, away from the crash site. Penrod said the district's crisis team will be on hand Thursday to talk to students, if needed.

The city's police, fire and ambulance crews responded, as did the Utah Highway Patrol, the Utah County Sheriff's Office and the UVU Police Department. Crews covered the wreckage until the bodies were removed.

Wright said the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

Taylor said the crash was the first fatality in a program considered one of the nation's largest. He said the 350 local students log 400,000 hours of flight time a year.

Taylor said there have been crashes before but no fatalities until now.

Benjamin Hill, a UVU flight instructor, was killed in a plane crash at Provo Municipal Airport last year, but he wasn't flying a UVU plane at the time.

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