For over a year, Duane Youd worked for VanCon, a general engineering company. He flew a Cessna 525 for business trips. His boss, Leon Van Sickle, said Youd was trusted completely. The pilot had full access to the company’s only plane, including the security code to the hangar.

In the middle of one random Monday night, that trust was shattered.

Just hours before, police arrested 47-year-old Youd for assaulting his wife. He posted bail. Not long after, he took the company Cessna from Spanish Fork-Springville Airport. No one there tracked the takeoff, since the facility didn’t have a tower or any air traffic staff.

Around 2:30 a.m., Youd crashed the twin-engine Cessna into his own house in Payson

His wife and her adult son made it out alive. The house caught fire. As you might guess from the wreckage, Youd died in the accident.

The crash was violent and deliberate, police said. Van Sickle later agreed. It had to be intentional. Youd managed to avoid nearby homes and fly beneath high-voltage lines to hit just one target: his own.

No previous aviation violations were on Youd’s record, CBS News said. Zero crashes. No enforcement actions. A clean sheet.

His employer said they had heard rumors of trouble at home. But nothing hinted at this. Van Sickle described him as golden. He said Youd had taken great care of everyone at the company.

In 2018, when the incident occurred, the FAA and NTSB launched investigations. Authorities confirmed the act was calculated: the wreckage told its own story.