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Two flight instructors with Southern Utah University's aviation program died in a Monday plane crash.

The program's chief fixed-wing flight instructor and a junior instructor were taking a Cessna 152 for a training flight when it crashed at about 1 p.m. Monday, about 6 miles southwest of Cedar City, said Ellen Treanor, spokeswoman for SUU.

The plane came down in a site known as Lake Quichapa, actually a bed of mud, Treanor said.

SUU's aviation program operates in partnership with Upper Limit Aviation, based in Salt Lake City. The two instructors, one in his 40s or 50s and the other in his 20s, were jointly employed by SUU and Upper Limit Aviation, said Michael Mower, chief operations officer and chief flight instructor for helicopters at the school.

"They were good guys from our group," said Mower, who was at the crash site.

Authorities were not releasing the names of the two pilots on Monday night, pending family notifications. SUU has suspended all training flights connected to Upper Limit Aviation until an investigation has concluded, Treanor said. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board were expected to remain in the Cedar City area for several days as they investigate the crash, Treanor said.