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Two men who died in Utah plane crash were from Las Vegas

(Photo courtesy of the Iron County Sheriff's Office) Two Las Vegas men died when their plane crashed in Cedar City on Sunday.

(Photo courtesy of the Iron County Sheriff's Office) Two Las Vegas men died when their plane crashed in Cedar City on Sunday.

Two Las Vegas men have been identified as the victims in a fatal plane crash on Sunday in Cedar City.

Darwin Mao, 52, and Richard Essex, 63, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to the Iron County Sheriff’s Office. They reported their plane — a North American Navion, a four-seat plane built in the 1940s — was in distress at about 8:45 a.m. Moments later, the plane crashed into a 300-foot-tall communications tower near 6500 W. 4000 South, according to Lt. Del Schlosser of the Iron County Sheriff’s Office.

The Federal Aviation Administration has completed its on-scene investigation, according to Schlosser, and the National Transportation Safety Board has taken possession of the plane wreckage as the investigation continues.

(Photo courtesy of the Iron County Sheriff's Office) A plane hit this communications tower in Cedar City, killing the two men on board the aircraft.

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