A Lafayette couple died in a private plane crash over central Utah this weekend, according to a release. Mona and Peter Branagh were traveling by personal aircraft from the Bay Area to Aspen, Colo. but never arrived at their destination.

On Sunday, a private helicopter hired by the Branagh's family spotted aircraft debris in the Saleredas Canyon, located in Utah's Sevier County. The isolated canyon is 20 miles from the nearest town.

The couple was traveling in a single engine Cirrus SR22 from a stop in Utah to Aspen, Colo. when the plane crashed into a mountainside north of I-70 about 27 miles southeast of Salina, Utah. Sevier County (Utah) Sheriff Nathan Curtis, who went to the site Tuesday, told the Salt Lake Tribune that based on some of the electronic devices that he found, the couple was flying at 14,000 feet before the plane plummeted down into the mountain.

Mona ran Pacific Bay Interior, an interior design business on Hartz Avenue in downtown
Danville; the business will be closed until Thursday. Those seeking assistance with Pacific Bay Interior business should call Jen McDonough at 989-0992.

Peter was a well-known developer in the Lafayette area, president of Branagh Development, as well as director of the California Bank of Commerce and vice chairman of its loan committee.

"Mr. Branagh understood well the link between small business and the vitality of the community, and he understood as well the role that community banks play in serving the financial needs of closely held businesses," a CBC release stated. "He was a tireless supporter of the California Bank of Commerce and he will be sorely missed."

Investigators with the Sevier County Sheriff are working to confirm that the wreckage spotted is that of the Cirrus SR22 registered to Springhill Aviation LLC in Danville, according to reports.

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