A pilot has been found dead in a downed plane near Skwentna. The Anchorage Daily News reports that searchers Tuesday found the pilot, who’s name is not being released yet, after a search was initiated when the plane a Grumman C-1A did not arrive as scheduled at the Nixon Fork Mine near McGrath. The cargo plane was flying from Wasilla to the mine. When it never arrived on Monday, the Alaska Air National Guard was called in to help. Rescuers spotted the cargo plane about 60 miles from Skwentna this morning. The pilot was the sole occupant. The crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Alaska State Troopers are en route to the crash site to confirm the pilot’s identity.
APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
