Chelsea Britney Infanger
Chelsea Britney Infanger / Instagram Chelsea Britney Infanger
An experienced pilot died at the age of 30 last week after crashing into a potato processing plant in Idaho.
At around 9am on Wednesday morning, the Hayburn Police Department and emergency services went to the Gem State Processing Plant, where they found that the pilot had crashed a single-engine plane, according to a statement.
Although authorities did not name the pilot, who was the only passenger on the plane and did not survive, the Minidoca County Coroner identified the victim in front of PEOPLE as Chelsea’s Britney Infanger. An autopsy was performed and the case was handed over to the FAA and NTSB, according to Minidoca County Coroner Lucky Bourne.
No one at the processing plant was injured in the crash, police said.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the immediate details of the crash in a statement received from the PEOPLE. The investigation into the incident is being conducted by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation.
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Infanger, who was flying a Cessna 208B registered with Gem Air, was carrying packages from Burley Municipal Airport to Salt Lake City International Airport, the FAA said. NTSB does not currently publish data.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of the pilot involved in the Burley, Idaho,” UPS spokesman Jim Mayer told PEOPLE. “While the incident did not involve a UPS plane or employees, the flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to Burley was agreed to carry UPS packages.”
Infanger’s father, Jim Bob Infanger, who is also a pilot, told East Idaho News that his daughter has 11 years of flying experience and is familiar with the airport where the crash took place.
“There’s a 60-foot chimney sticking out of the top of the food processing plant – no lights, a dead center – right across the track,” he told the exit. “So every time you walk in, you have to fly over and fall down.”
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Chelsea Britney Infanger
Chelsea Britney Infanger / Instagram Chelsea Britney Infange
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The Infanger family told East Idaho News that the pilot, known to relatives as Britney, graduated from Utah State University with a degree in business finance. After college, she became a flight instructor in Mesa, Arizona, and moved home to Salman, Idaho, when her flight school closed due to the pandemic.
From there, she began giving flight instructions on her own plane. Speaking of the outcome, her mother remembered her as a person who “brightens the room with a smile wherever she goes.”
She leaves behind her two parents, five siblings and nieces and nephews. Her funeral is scheduled for Saturday, April 23 in Salmon.
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“The world is a darker place without her light, but I believe the sky is a little more beautiful with her there. She saw more and lived longer in her 30s than most do in 100. My sister Angel got her permanent wings “Sister Emily Goodrich told East Idaho News.
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