Plane Crash

The victims of a fatal plane crash alongside the Susitna River have been identified. According to State Troopers, the state medical examiner's office used dental x-rays to positively identify 28- year-old Brandon C. Reiley and 29- year-old Seth D. Holden, both from Anchorage. The men were flying in a 1947 Piper PA-11 aircraft when it crashed Tuesday near Mt. Susitna. Contact Lori Tipton at ltipton@ktuu.com

Members of the Cavner family continue to endure painful surgeries as they recover from a fiery plane crash earlier this month. The financial burden from hospital bills might be a little easier to handle, thanks to some Alaska hunters. The Alaska Professional Hunters Association says its members volunteered to take on some of Preston Cavner's hunting trips, which the family relies on to make a living. Their recovery is being documented in an online journal. "I think everybody's doing all right considering the circumstances.

A pilot was injured in an Atigun Pass plane crash Sunday afternoon, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB investigator Clint Johnson says the Piper PA-18 Super Cub was flying from Deadhorse to Bettles when it crashed shortly after 12:30 p.m. The pilot, who received non-life-threatening injuries, was injured and medevaced to Anchorage Sunday night. Email Kortnie Horazdovsky

The National Transportation Safety Board says the plane crash in Homer was the second fatal plane crash in Alaska as of early July 2012. The first fatal crash occurred near Red Devil in March , killing 2 people. The NTSB investigated 13 deadly crashes in 2011. It's the most Alaska has seen in the past five years. In 2010, there were 11 fatal crashes, but only 4 in 2009. In both 2008 and 2007, the safety board investigated 11 deadly crashes in the state.

One of the victims from the Aug. 9 plane crash near Dillingham that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens and four others has been moved from a hospital in Alaska to one near the nation's capital. Sean O'Keefe, the former head of NASA, was badly injured in the Aug. 9th plane crash. A family spokesperson says O'Keefe was not moved because of any "particular danger," and that O'Keefe is making good progress. O'Keefe is in the critical care unit of the unnamed hospital. His son, Kevin O'Keefe, was treated and released from Providence Alaska Medical Center earlier this month.

by Channel 2 News staff Tuesday, June 8, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Anchorage Police Department is asking the assistance of the public in identifying the citizens who responded to assist the victims from last Tuesday's plane crash. Several people helped remove the pilot and passengers who were trapped in the Cessna 206 that crashed just after 5:00 p.m. on East 7th Ave. and Ingra St. According to police the good Samaritans risked their own lives to save the lives of four occupants of the downed plane.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now able to take a closer look at wreckage from a missing plane that turned up on a beach in Katmai National Park. An NTSB investigator was flown to the site along the park's northern coast Thursday afternoon. While on the ground, officials were able to identify some additional pieces of wreckage not seen previously. A commercial helicopter pilot found a section of the tail Tuesday, as well as small pieces of the fuselage. The NTSB says the flight controls and engine would yield important information, but those parts have not been found.

A float plane crashed Sunday night in the Katmai National Preserve. National Transportation Safety Board investigators say four of the seven people aboard the plane were injured. The pilot of the plane, which was carrying six lodge guests to a fishing trip, was flown to Anchorage to be checked out, and three of the passengers were treated and released with minor injuries. Investigators say the float plane, which was operated by Royal Wolf Lodge, was leaving Kukaklek Lake around 5:30 p.m. but failed to get airborne quickly enough and crashed into the shoreline.

A small plane crashed Monday evening while landing at an airstrip at Lake Hood in Anchorage. There were three people on board, the pilot and two passengers, and all three men walked away with only bumps and bruises. The incident happened shortly after 7:00 p.m. One of the passengers told Channel 2 News that the plane was coming back from a trip to the Kenai area. The pilot, who declined to give his name, said he was unaware there was unplowed snow on the airstrip. He said as the Cessna 182 touched-down, snow began to fly over the nose of the plane.

It's been almost four months since a plane following the Iron Dog snowmachine race crashed near the Rainy Pass Lodge, badly injuring both pilot Robert Stone and his passenger, former Iron Dog racer Jason Wichman. Wichman suffered brain trauma and is now making small improvements in his recovery, according to his wife Christina Wichman. Stone tells Channel 2 that he broke bones in his face and his pelvis, as well as both femurs and feet -- but is following Wichman's recovery through close friends.

STORY UPDATED AT 1:43 p.m. at 6/11/13: Alaska State Troopers identified the pilot involved in a Willow Lake plane crash that happened Monday afternoon as Roger Anderson, 66 of Willow, and he was the sole occupant. Alaska Wildlife Troopers responded to the crash and troopers wrote that “[Anderson] was departing Willow Lake in his PA-22 Pacer floatplane when he experienced a problem and crashed.” Troopers said he was uninjured and the airplane was considered totaled. "He attempted to land again right after takeoff, and the plane bounced pretty hard and flipped over in the water,” Clint Johnson, chief of National Transportation Safety Board in Anchorage, said.

Alaska State Troopers say a small plane, crash-landed at an airport in the Mat-Su Valley. Troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen says the plane crashed in the middle of the airstrip at Goose Bay Airport at about 11 a.m. Sunday. Troopers say the pilot of the Maule M-5 four-seater aircraft was coming in for a landing on the airstrip when he had a gear failure. One of the struts broke and dug into the ground during the landing and the plane tipped forward, damaging the nose, propeller and wing of the aircraft.

A plane crashed Saturday afternoon just outside of Newtok, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Clint Johnson, chief of the NTSB in Anchorage, said the plane departed from Bethel and crashed at about 4 p.m. Saturday, a mile and a half outside of Newtok. Four people were on board, including the pilot who suffered minor injuries. The plane was operated by Hageland aviation. The other people on board were reportedly okay, but the plane was badly damaged. The NTSB and FAA will investigate the cause of the crash.

An Anchorage man escaped without injuries after the small plane he was flying crashed into woods last week near Tyonek, according to Alaska State Troopers. A Monday AST dispatch says the crash occurred Wednesday at about 2 p.m., about five miles southwest of Tyonek on Cook Inlet's west side. Troopers identified the pilot as 28-year-old Joel Jacko. “(Jacko) was operating a 1966 PA-23 Piper Aztec from Merrill Field in Anchorage to Nondalton,” troopers wrote. “The aircraft suffered engine failure and the plane crashed into the trees.” Soldotna troopers were informed of the crash Sunday morning, and the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.

It was a somber day in Eagle River as a husband said goodbye to his wife and daughter. A funeral service was held Saturday for 48-year-old Carolyn Sorvoja and 10-year-old Rosemarie Sorvoja. They lost their lives in a plane crash on March 4th near Rainy Pass on its way to Takotna. The Sorvojas were heading to Takotna to volunteer at the Iditarod checkpoint. The plane wreckage was found on March 5. They were killed along with 56-year-old pilot Ted Smith, a retired Anchorage Police Department Sergeant.

A March 4 plane crash near Rainy Pass that killed all three people on board occurred during what another pilot called “severe turbulence” and flat light conditions, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. A preliminary NTSB report on the crash says the Cessna 182 -- piloted by 59-year-old Ted Smith, with mother and daughter Carolyn Sorvoja, 48, and Rosemarie Sorvoja, 10, as passengers -- left Anchorage's Merrill Field shortly after 10 a.m. headed for Takotna.

The National Transportation Safety Board says a cargo plane that crashed near Dillingham, leaving both of the Anchorage men flying it dead, was under an instrument flight rules flight plan when it “impacted rising terrain” Friday morning. According to a preliminary NTSB report, the Beech 1900C operated by ACE Air Cargo crashed after its crew told Federal Aviation Administration personnel they were on approach to Dillingham. Alaska State Troopers named the men on board last week as pilot Jeff Day, 38, and first officer Neil Jensen, 21. The instrument flight rules called for in the aircraft's flight plan, which involve flying by instrument and navigational data, are usually used when weather makes it unsafe to fly an aircraft visually.

Alaska State Troopers say the bodies of two Anchorage pilots in a cargo plane crash near Dillingham were recovered Saturday morning by the Alaska Air National Guard. AST identified the victims of the downed plane as Capt. Jeff Day, 38, and First Officer Neil Jensen, 21, both of Anchorage. Troopers said that an Air National Guard HH -60 Pavehawk found the wreckage of a downed Beech 1900 plane around 6:00 a.m. Saturday. A helicopter crew recovered the bodies and flew them to Dillingham and then to Anchorage.

Funeral services have been set for three people killed in a plane crash near Rainy Pass earlier this week. On Mar. 5, rescue crews found the wreckage near the 4,000-foot level of Rainy Pass and found the bodies of pilot Ted Smith, 59 , and mother and daughter passengers Carolyn Sorvoja, 48, and Rosemarie Sorvoja , 10, all three were from Eagle River. Smith was a retired Anchorage Police Department Sergeant with other two decades of experience and his service will take place Saturday, Mar. 9. It will be held at the Central Lutheran Church at 1420 Cordova St at 3 p.m. A funeral mass for Carolyn and Rosemarie Sorvoja will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 16. It will be held at St. Andrews Parish at 16300 Domain Lane in Eagle River.