ROY CITY

POLICE DEPARTMENT
5051 South 1900 West Carl G. Merino
Roy, Utah 84067 Chief of Police
Administration: (801) 774-1063
Dispatch: (801) 629-8221
Fax: (801) 774-1017

January 16, 2020

A message from the Roy City Chief of Police:

Yesterday afternoon, January 15, 2020, at 3:12 P.M., a twin engine Cessna, privately owned airplane, crashed in
Roy City at approximately 1805 W. 5050 S. As a result of this plane crash, two residences sustained damage, but more
importantly the pilot of the plane was killed as a result of the crash.

All of the employees and Administrators of Roy City want to express our deepest condolences to the family of the
pilot of the plane, Mr. Dave Goode. To all of his family and friends we care deeply about your grief at this time. We also
want to express our concern for the residents of the homes that were damaged as a result of this plane crash. As you can
imagine, we are very early in this investigation and no cause of the crash is either known or can be suspected at this time.
The National Transportation Safety Administration has taken over the investigation.

This is the fifth private airplane crash Roy City Police has responded to since March of 2016, and there have been
five fatalities as a result of these plane crashes. All of the planes that have crashed were either leaving, or landing at
Ogden Municipal Airport. While this number is very concerning in itself, I, Police Chief Carl Merino, and all the
members of the Roy City government are very thankful there have not been more casualties or injuries. What is even
more concerning to Roy City public safety and the Roy City Government administration is that within the direct flight
paths of the Ogden Municipal Airport are four Roy City schools of the Weber School District, including a junior high,
high school and two elementary schools, and the several thousand students who attend these four schools, as well as all
the citizens of Roy living under these flight paths!

Air travel is widely recognized every year as a very safe method of travel, considered much safer than travel by
almost any other means. I was in discussions with both Roy City Mayor Robert Dandoy, and Roy City Manager Matthew
Andrews, yesterday evening and this morning, and we are all beside ourselves with the concern for the citizens of Roy in
consideration of these airplane crashes in Roy City. Both Mayor Dandoy and I have been associated with air
transportation through service, both civilian and military, with the United States Air Force for a total of roughly 60 years,
and we find this safety record for planes flying into or out of Ogden Municipal Airport very disturbing. Personally, I have
spoken with Roy City citizens in the recent past and felt I could assure them of their safety from the dangers of flights
associated with the Ogden Airport. I now regret making those statements, as it has become quite clear there is a safety
problem for these aircraft!

Plane crashes are most commonly related to either flight training (pilot error), equipment malfunction (poor or
incorrect maintenance), weather problems (again a result of either pilot inexperience or poor weather information), or
issues with air traffic control. In light of the recent plane crashes occurring in the Roy City area, and the very real danger
to the citizens of Roy City, Mayor Dandoy, City Manager Andrews, and I will be looking to work with the National
Transportation Safety Administration, Federal Aviation Administration and Ogden City who owns the airport, to conduct
an extensive investigation into the safety concerns surrounding these plane crashes and to attempt to find a common
denominator which can be corrected to remove this danger to our citizens .

Sincerely,

Carl G. Merino
Chief of Police