Five people have died in a mid-air collision between two small commercial planes in the USA state of Alaska.
Advertisement
According to the reports, the planes involved in the crash are a Hageland Aviation Cessna 208 Caravan and Renfro’s Alaskan Adventures Piper PA-18s.
Mid-air collisions are rare in the USA and most occur near airports.
Olmstead wrote in an email that an aviation company told the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (ARCC) at 11 a.m. Wednesday stating they lost radio contact with an aircraft which was overdue.
There were five people total on board both planes. “Weather is good in the region with clear skies and temperature at 63 degrees mid-afternoon”.
The Cessna belonged to Hageland Aviation Services, a regional airline, and the Piper was operated by Renfro’s Alaskan Adventures, she added.
Troopers say responders at the scene have confirmed there were no survivors on either of the planes.
Alaska is a sparsely populated USA state more than twice the size of Texas, and residents in remote areas rely on small planes for travel, recreation and mail delivery.
A third aircraft flying overheard spotted the wreckage.
Rescue workers flew by helicopter to the crash site from Bethel, about 100 kilometres south of Russian Mission.
The wreckage covers a large area accessible only by helicopter, said Clint Johnson, head of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska…
Advertisement
The crash occurred in an area of rolling hills and heavy vegetation with an elevation between 600 to 800 feet.
