Plane Crash

New video surfaced Thursday night of the victims in the plane crash near Dillingham last month that killed Sen. Ted Stevens and four others. The Associated Press received the video from the Coast Guard through a Freedom of Information Act request. It shows the victims of the plane crash being loaded onto a Coast Guard C-130 transport plane and then being treated throughout the flight. The video does not shed any new light on the crash, but it is some of the earliest video taken of the Aug. 10 accident’s aftermath.

Alaska State Troopers have identified three people injured in a Kuspuk School District plane crash Tuesday near the Kalskag Airport. A Wednesday AST dispatch names the men in the Cessna 172's crash, which troopers were notified of at 4:40 p.m., as 44-year-old pilot Steve Bruckner of Aniak and Anchorage passengers Brian Foley, 52, and Roy Guernsey, 55. Troopers say the plane was within sight of Upper Kalskag at the time of the crash. “Reportedly just prior to the time of departure weather conditions significantly deteriorated,” troopers wrote.

A man was killed in a plane crash Friday morning near Ketchikan. State troopers identified the man as 38-year-old Josh Murdock. He was the sole occupant of the plane. Witnesses say they saw the 1959 DeHavilland Beaver clip some trees at about 7:30 a.m., causing the plane to lose its right wing before crashing near Ward Cove, about five miles north of downtown Ketchikan. The plane was found on a grassy knoll off of the Tongass Highway. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.

Two people were killed in a plane crash near Mount Susitna Tuesday night and discovered by the Alaska Air National Guard. Maj. Guy Hayes says a helicopter crew was on a training mission near Big Lake when it heard an Emergency Locator Transmitter. The Guardsmen then spotted a plume of smoke, Hayes said in a release, and headed towards the scene, on the Susitna River, where they found a small crashed plane. The release says the pilots were able to land the helicopter nearby and that crewmembers used four fire extinguishers to try to put out the fire.

by Channel 2 News staff Friday, May 14, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaska State Troopers have identified the pilot who died Friday afternoon in a plane crash near Willow. Neal Burgess Burleson of Willow, 58, died when his Piper PA-18 Super Cub landed upside-down in some trees at the end of Susitna Landing Road at about 2 p.m., troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen said. Officials say Burleson was the plane's only occupant. A witness reported seeing the plane clip a tree before crashing, troopers said.

A plane crash near the Happy Valley airstrip, north of the Brooks Range, Wednesday afternoon left three people including a child seriously injured, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB spokesperson Clint Johnson says the agency was informed shortly after 3 p.m. that a Helio Courier, a small plane capable of short takeoffs and landings, crashed on takeoff from an airstrip near a haul road in the area. North Slope Borough Search and Rescue personnel responded to the crash and medevaced the plane's occupants, who Johnson said were headed to Fairbanks or Anchorage as of Wednesday evening.

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.

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.

The NTSB is now investigating the crash of a small plane that crashed on Monday.  The three people on board that plane lost their lives just north of Rainy Pass. Work is underway by the NTSB to determine the cause of a plane crash on Monday. Meanwhile, family and friends are mourning the loss of the three people who were onboard that plane. Ted Smith, the reported pilot, was well known within the flying community and within the Anchorage Police Department. 48-year-old Carolyn Sorvoja and 10-year-old Rosemarie leave behind a husband and father who will now raise two children alone.

A former mayor of Aniak died in a plane crash Tuesday night. The National Transportation Safety Board said 61-year-old Steve Hill was flying a Cessna 207 from Aniak to Chuathbaluk when his plane crashed. Hill was the co-owner of Inland Aviation Services and also served on the Aniak city council.  The NTSB said Hill took off, alone, from Aniak about 7:40 pm on Tuesday night. He was picking up a passenger in Chuathbaluk to take back to Aniak. When Hill failed to arrive at his destination Alaska State Troopers began a search for the missing pilot and found his wrecked plane about 2:40 am Wednesday morning.