A light plane crashed in Houston yesterday afternoon, taking the life of a young pilot, 23-year-old Joseph Mielke of Big Lake.
The NTSB is investigating the crash. The plane, a Cessna 150, was airborne briefly before it went down and burst into flames.
Millicent Hoidal, with the NTSB’s Alaska Aviation Safety Office, is leading the investigation into the accident.
“We arrived on scene at about 4:30 yesterday, and there was a post -impact fire. There were several witnesses that saw him depart, but no one saw the accident itself. And at about 9:00 last night, the wreckage was recovered and the road reopened. The wreckage will be stored at a secure location until a wreckage layout and exam can be done next week.”
Hoidal says the plane took off from a private air strip in Big Lake yesterday afternoon, made some turns and then went down. It crashed near Houston High School. The NTSB is expected to release a preliminary report next week. It is the 22nd air accident related death in Alaska this year.
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
