Alaska News

Small plane crashes in Southwest Alaska

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A commercially operated Cessna 206 crashed 12 miles northeast of Port Alsworth on Thursday, according to officials.

The plane was a Regal Air aircraft, and the pilot was the sole occupant, according to Megan Richotte, public information officer with Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.

Alaska State Troopers were en route, Richotte said. A recovery mission would take place Thursday evening by both troopers and park rangers.

Brice Banning, senior aircraft accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said that NTSB investigators were also heading to the scene.

The plane had departed from Lake Hood Seaplane Base in West Anchorage, Banning said.

It was reported missing around 9:30 a.m., when the Rescue Coordination Center said a emergency locator transmitter had activated in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, according to Richotte.

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A search party of Lake Clark National Park rangers responded, Richotte said. They found the plane around 1:45 p.m., according to Banning. It was found downed and burning in the Miller Creek drainage of the park.

Richotte described the area of the crash as "a forested valley bottom in mountainous terrain."

Port Alsworth is around 165 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

Laurel Andrews

Laurel Andrews was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in October 2018.

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