Family, Friends, and Aero Formula 1 Community Mourn Creighton King

The pilot of a Cassutt 111M racing airplane killed in the vicinity of West Jordan, Utah’s South Valley Regional Airport (U42) on Wednesday, 23 August 2023 has been identified as Creighton King, 50, of West Valley City, Utah.

King, who was identified by family-members, the West Jordan Police Department, and social-media posts, was the downed aircraft’s owner and had raced the machine for more than a decade.

A Facebook group dedicated to Cassutt aircraft claimed Mr. King, at the time of the accident, had been testing the plane in advance of the forthcoming  Reno Air Races.

West Jordan police detective Alondra Zavala stated the accident-aircraft came to ground on Copper Hills Parkway between Airport Road and 7800 South. The mishap and subsequent investigation forced the closure of area roads.

In the hours following the accident, Federal Aviation Administration officials set forth in a statement: "A single-engine Cassutt crashed near South Valley Regional Airport in West Jordan, Utah, around 12 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Aug. 23. Only the pilot was on board."

In social media posts referencing the upcoming Nevada air-race in which he reportedly intended to compete, Mr. King referred to his Cassutt 111M as Last Lap Player.

King’s family-members and friends remembered him as a devoted family man with “flying in his blood.” Creighton King is survived by his wife and two teenage daughters.

Friend and business-partner Mike Patey remarked: "Creighton's family was everything, his girls, his wife. … his family was the most important thing to him.”

Patey described King as having “the biggest heart, the biggest smile, the biggest personality.”

“He went out doing what he wanted to do,” Patey continued, “which was build and fly and race really cool airplanes.”

Patey concluded: “Creighton, we’re gonna miss you. We love you, buddy.”

King’s friend and fellow pilot Cory Robin echoed Patey’s sentiments, stating: "We already miss him. He was just always contributing. If there's a reason to live on this Earth, he sure lived it. He sure gave. Just a real loss for humanity.”

King was well known in both Formula 1 airplane racing circles and the kit-aircraft industry—primarily for his adaptation of the storied CassuTT design. King’s modernized, T-tailed iteration of the venerable racer competed successfully, setting a number of speed records in its class.

In a Facebook post, King’s sister, Harmonie King Wheeler, called her brother “a very experienced pilot,” and conceded the King family had been devastated by his passing. She thanked commentors for messages of condolence, including messages directed to King’s wife and daughters, whom, she disclosed, are attempting to process the incalculable loss.

A GoFundMe page set up on behalf of King’s family revealed the deceased had earned his Private Pilot certificate at an early age.

Bystander Jeremy Lowe happened across the wreckage of King’s Cassutt and attempted to administer life-saving measures, albeit to no avail.

"I noticed the plane crash right there in the middle of the road with the gentleman laying in the middle of the road," Lowe reported. "When I got through the intersection, myself and another lady just took off and started CPR and trying to breathe for him to keep him alive."

Lowe, who’d been on his lunch break at the time of the accident, stated he found King unconscious and with a barely discernible pulse.

A second witness who asked to remain anonymous reported observing a "horrific crash” as he drove along Copper Hills Parkway.

"I was driving east and I saw it take off from the airport," the unnamed witness wrote in an email. "Shortly after take-off the plane banked erratically and it looked like he [King] tried to turn around back to the airport but was way too low. He managed to get the plane turned around back toward the airport runway but was too low/fast, flying erratically and slammed into the road pretty hard."

The anonymous witness stated he, too, had attempted to render aid to King—who’d been thrown clear of the aircraft’s wreckage and lay unconscious in the roadway.

The accident remains under investigation by the NTSB, the FAA, and local authorities.

E-I-C Note: ANN sends its prayers and condolences to Creighton's family and friends. Creighton was a good friend of ours, and an enjoyable guy to chat with.... and we will miss him... a lot. What a tragedy... 

FMI: www.ntsb.org