A civilian aircraft made an emergency landing inside Hill Air Force Base on Thursday morning after reportedly developing engine trouble shortly after takeoff, forcing a brief closure of the base's North Gate in Davis County. The pilot, who was the only person aboard, walked away without injuries.
According to KSL, the plane came down near the intersection of Wardleigh Road and Perimeter Road, close to the base's North Gate. The aircraft had taken off from Ogden Airport and began experiencing issues shortly after departure, as reported by ABC4, which pegged the touchdown at around 9:37 a.m.
Emergency response crews from Hill Air Force Base responded to the scene once the aircraft was down, per the KSL report. The North Gate was temporarily closed to both inbound and outbound traffic while crews worked the scene, though ABC4's account notes the gate has since reopened.
Conflicting Early Reports on Scene Details
Not every outlet had the same picture in the immediate aftermath. Fox 13 reported that the exact landing location had not been confirmed, since the plane came down on Hill Air Force Base property, and that outlet also said there was no word on how many people were aboard or whether anyone was hurt at the time of its report. Those details were later confirmed elsewhere — KSL's account specifically states the pilot was alone in the aircraft and landed without injuries.
FAA Coordination Underway
Hill safety officials coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration to work out the cause of the emergency landing, the base's report states. Officials were also sorting out how to remove the aircraft from within the base, a process that typically follows any unplanned landing on military property.
This is not the first time an aircraft has made an unscheduled touchdown at Hill Air Force Base. In February 2024, a pilot flying an F-5AT fighter jet belonging to private military contractor Tactical Air Support performed an emergency belly landing at the base and emerged uninjured, according to a separate KSL report. In that earlier incident, the base said it would remain closed for a short period to relocate the aircraft and assess the condition of the runway.
