Caden West, left, Jaxson Homer and Myles West | Courtesy photos

BLACKFOOT – Three best friends embarked on a journey in the sky on Saturday night to celebrate one’s new pilot license, but it ended in tragedy.

Caden Max West, his brother Myles West, and their friend Jaxson Homer took off for a short flight around the Blackfoot airport.

“They were just going out for a quick ride to celebrate that he got his license,” says Nicole Johnson, Homer’s aunt. “We don’t know yet, really, what happened, but the plane went down shortly after being in the air.”

Caden West | Courtesy photo

At 11 p.m., the plane crashed on the north end of the airport, according to a news release from the Blackfoot Police Department.

Caden died from his injuries. He was 27 years old.

The other two were seriously injured and transported to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

Kyle Riley, EastIdahoNews.com

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

According to Johnson, Jaxson Homer’s parents, Travis and Tana, got a call from Caden and Myles’ parents, Jason and Maxine, around midnight, asking if they knew about the crash.

“They had just gotten a call to let them know that Caden was dead,” Johnson says. “They were asking to see if they’d heard from Jaxson.”

The Homers tracked Jaxson’s phone and learned their son had been taken to EIRMC.

“It was shocking and devastating,” says Johnson. “It’s just hard to fathom, and you’re just not prepared for something like that to happen to somebody so close to you.”

Myles was released from the hospital just a few days after the crash, having suffered extensive head bruising, a dislocated hip and a broken nose, according to a Facebook post from his father.

“My beliefs don’t let me accept that Saturday was the end of the story. If you share that, join us with a prayer,” says Jason West in the post. “If you don’t, I’d ask you to let our families hold onto it without judgment.”

Jaxson continues to fight for his life after suffering multiple life-threatening injuries.

Jaxson Homer | Courtesy Nicole Johnson

According to a GoFundMe organized by Johnson, Jaxson is in the ICU with a vertebral burst fracture of his L3, a broken sternum, a shattered ankle and severe facial fractures.

“He has literally shattered all of his facial structure. I think (his face) took the impact, but luckily his brain is functioning, and he can respond, but he’s on a ventilator,” says Johnson.

Jaxson’s eyes are completely swollen shut, but his aunt says he has been able to slowly nod, squeeze his hand, and give thumbs-up and thumbs-down hand signals to answer questions.

On Wednesday, Jaxson was transported from EIRMC to the University of Utah to receive specialized care.

“In Idaho, the first couple of days, he had surgery on his ankle for some pins to be put in and to put his ankle back together,” says Johnson. “Right after he got out of ankle surgery, they took him to back surgery to put rods and a cage in his back.”

On Saturday, Jaxson is scheduled to have facial reconstruction surgery.

“They’re learning how to communicate with him to see what he needs,” says Johnson. “Through that, he found out that one friend made it and one friend didn’t.”

Jaxson Homer | Courtesy Nicole Johnson

Just before Jaxson was transported to Utah, the Homer family learned that their insurance would not cover the expenses from the treatment he needs there.

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