CosmicCowboy
08-10-2010, 11:45 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_alaska_plane_crash
UNEAU, Alaska – A plane carrying nine people crashed amid southwest Alaska's remote mountains and lakes, killing five people on board, authorities said Tuesday. Former Sen. Ted Stevens and ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe were believed to be aboard.
It was unclear if the longtime Republican senator and O'Keefe were among the dead.
Rescuers arrived on helicopter early Tuesday and were giving medical care to survivors, Alaska National Guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes said. He offered no additional details, except that there were potential fatalities.
Alaska officials reported that nine people were aboard the aircraft and that "it appears that there are five fatalities," NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz told The Associated Press in Washington.
A U.S. government official told the AP that Alaska authorities have been told that the 86-year-old Stevens, a former longtime Republican senator, was on the plane. The official, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, says Stevens' condition is unknown.
The federal official declined to be publicly identified because the crash response and investigation are under way.
Hayes said the Guard was called to the area about 20 miles north of Dillingham around 7 p.m. Monday after a passing aircraft saw the downed plane. But severe weather has hampered search and rescue efforts.
The National Weather Service reported rain and fog at Dillingham, with low clouds and limited visibility early Tuesday. Conditions ranged from visibility of about 10 miles reported at Dillingham shortly before 7 p.m. Monday to 3 miles, with rain and fog later.
Stevens and O'Keefe are longtime fishing buddies and the former senator had been planning a fishing trip near Dillingham, longtime friend William Canfield said.
The flight in and out of Dillingham is an often perilous trip through the mountains even in good weather, Canfield said.
FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said the plane was being flown — from one lodge to another — using visual flight rules, and didn't need a flight plan. He said he didn't know who made the call that triggered the all-alert notice, that the plane was overdue.
UNEAU, Alaska – A plane carrying nine people crashed amid southwest Alaska's remote mountains and lakes, killing five people on board, authorities said Tuesday. Former Sen. Ted Stevens and ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe were believed to be aboard.
It was unclear if the longtime Republican senator and O'Keefe were among the dead.
Rescuers arrived on helicopter early Tuesday and were giving medical care to survivors, Alaska National Guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes said. He offered no additional details, except that there were potential fatalities.
Alaska officials reported that nine people were aboard the aircraft and that "it appears that there are five fatalities," NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz told The Associated Press in Washington.
A U.S. government official told the AP that Alaska authorities have been told that the 86-year-old Stevens, a former longtime Republican senator, was on the plane. The official, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, says Stevens' condition is unknown.
The federal official declined to be publicly identified because the crash response and investigation are under way.
Hayes said the Guard was called to the area about 20 miles north of Dillingham around 7 p.m. Monday after a passing aircraft saw the downed plane. But severe weather has hampered search and rescue efforts.
The National Weather Service reported rain and fog at Dillingham, with low clouds and limited visibility early Tuesday. Conditions ranged from visibility of about 10 miles reported at Dillingham shortly before 7 p.m. Monday to 3 miles, with rain and fog later.
Stevens and O'Keefe are longtime fishing buddies and the former senator had been planning a fishing trip near Dillingham, longtime friend William Canfield said.
The flight in and out of Dillingham is an often perilous trip through the mountains even in good weather, Canfield said.
FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said the plane was being flown — from one lodge to another — using visual flight rules, and didn't need a flight plan. He said he didn't know who made the call that triggered the all-alert notice, that the plane was overdue.