Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Thursday, December 25, 1997 

PILOT KILLED IN CRASH IS IDENTIFIED

MONTICELLO, Utah (AP)  A pilot killed when his plane carrying 108 pounds
of marijuana crashed has been identified and his passenger, who walked
away, has been charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell.

The pilot was identified late Wednesday as Joshua Wayne Teegarden, 21, of
Sylmar, Calif.

Passenger Charles Clinton Kennan, 24, of Piedmont, Calif., was charged
Wednesday with one count of possession of marijuana with intent to sell, a
seconddegree felony. Kennan suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Two duffle bags of marijuana were recovered from the singleengine Cessna
172 that struck power lines and crashed into an empty field Tuesday night
on the east side of Monticello. The accident caused a 2 1/2hour power
outage that affected about 2,000 people.

Officers did not know where the estimated $50,000 drug payload was headed.
``We still have a lot of unanswered questions,'' San Juan County Sheriff
Mike Lacy said Wednesday.

``The pilot may have been lost,'' Lacy said. ``He had radioed the FAA air
traffic control center in Denver for a radar fix on his own location.''

Witnesses told the Utah Highway Patrol they noticed the plane circling the
area before the nose suddenly dipped.

Teegarden had only been licensed to fly for 13 days, Lacy said.

Just before takeoff, Teegarden told his stepmother he was flying to
Nebraska, the San Juan County Sheriff's Office said. No flight plan was
filed with the FAA.

Kennan was wearing a pager that began buzzing as rescuers approached the
crash site. Investigators speculated the men may have been searching for a
drop zone for the marijuana and a possible accomplice on the ground.

Kennan has not offered an explanation, Lacy said.