All 4 Dead Aboard Plane After Weekend Crash Near Runway in Rural Alaska

Published on September 16, 2024

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—The weekend crash of a plane roughly a half-mile from a runway near the southwest Alaska community of St. Mary’s killed all four occupants on board the aircraft, authorities said. Alaska State Troopers said they received a report of an overdue aircraft around 11:15 p.m. Sunday from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. Troopers responding to the plane’s last known location found the wreckage and the bodies of four men, the agency said. The names of the dead were not immediately released. Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region, said the plane, which had left from Bethel, was operated by Yute Commuter Service and was believed to be carrying at least two employees of the company. An NTSB investigator was expected to arrive in Anchorage Monday and head to the crash site Tuesday, weather permitting, Johnson said....