Alaska News

Troopers ID pilot killed in plane crash west of Cook Inlet

Alaska State Troopers have identified the victim of a Wednesday night plane crash west of Cook Inlet as Jason Walkush, 35.

A troopers spokeswoman said Thursday that officials believed they knew the identity of the plane crash victim but decided to wait for confirmation from the state medical examiner.

[Pilot killed as small plane crashes west of Cook Inlet]

Walkush was an Anchorage resident, troopers said.

Walkush was the pilot and sole occupant of a Piper PA-18 that crashed 50 miles west of Tyonek, at the east end of Chakachamna Lake and about 80 miles west of Anchorage.

The 11th Air Force's Rescue Coordination Center received a signal from the plane's 406 ELT, or emergency locator transmitter, around 10:45 p.m. Wednesday. The signal led troopers and a federal investigator to the site of the crash the next day; an investigation got underway with the retrieval of Walkush's body.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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