North Dakota State Senator Doug Larsen, his wife, and their two young children died in a small plane crash in Utah.

“Doug Larsen’s death was confirmed Monday in an email that Republican Senate Majority Leader David Hogue sent to his fellow senators and was obtained by The Associated Press,” AP reports.

“Larsen has been a state senator for North Dakota’s 34th district since 2021,” KFYR stated.

“On behalf of the NDGOP, we extend our heartfelt sympathy to the Larsen family. Senator Doug Larsen (D34) was a man of faith and a patriot who served in the National Guard. His voice will be missed in the North Dakota Senate,” the North Dakota Republican Party said in a statement.

The plane crashed during takeoff in Moab, Utah Sunday night.

KFYR reports:

According to an FAA incident report, a plane carrying four people crashed during takeoff in Moab, Utah Sunday night.

The Grand County sheriff’s office reports that at 8:30 p.m. local time, it responded to a plane crash at Canyonlands Airfield north of Moab.

Utah media outlets are reporting four people were killed in the accident.

The FAA incident report stated three people including the pilot were killed and one was seriously injured.

According to FAA records, the plane, a 1966 Piper PA28, was registered to Douglas Larsen of Mandan, North Dakota.

AP added:

The plane crashed Sunday evening shortly after taking off from Canyonlands Airfield about 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of Moab, according to a Grand County Sheriff’s Department statement posted on Facebook. The sheriff’s office said all four people on board the plane were killed.

“Senator Doug Larsen, his wife Amy, and their two young children died in a plane crash last evening in Utah,” Hogue wrote in his email. “They were visiting family in Scottsdale and returning home. They stopped to refuel in Utah.”

“I’m not sure where the bereavement starts with such a tragedy, but I think it starts with prayers for the grandparents, surviving stepchild of Senator Larsen, and extended family of Doug and Amy,” Hogue wrote. “Hold your family close today.”

The crash of the single-engine Piper plane was being investigated, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on X, the social media website formerly called Twitter.

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A phone message left with sheriff’s officials seeking additional information wasn’t immediately returned Monday.

Larsen was a Republican first elected to the North Dakota Senate in 2020. His district comprises Mandan, the city neighboring Bismarck to the west across the Missouri River. Larsen chaired a Senate panel that handled industry and business legislation.

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